Forget about Love
by Only-eyes-for-Riddick
Summary: Love isn't easy, as our favorite potions master discovers when a message about Voldemort's upcoming attack arrives with the most unlikely of messengers.
1. The Warning

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with the Harry Potter universe. I do own Erica though. She is my own creation. I also own the plot...but that is all. I don't own any other characters, backstories, or plotlines. Anyway, on with the show.**

It was another formal dinner at Hogwarts before the Christmas vacation. Students would be getting on the Hogwarts Express and going home in a week. Everyone was there, including the Potions Master Severus Snape. Snape absolutely despised the holidays. They were the worst time of year.

The good news was that Voldemort was being quiet at the present time. While that could be taken as good news, it could also be taken as bad. Snape knew that when Voldemort was quiet, he was usually planning something.

It was the "Golden Trio's" final year at Hogwarts. Unfortunately if Voldemort wasn't defeated soon Snape would have to spend even more time with them during the Order meetings that are sure to come up.

Remus Lupin was sitting next to Snape, highly enjoying the feast. He had returned as Defense against the Dark Arts professor, much to Potter's delight and Snape's discontent.

The year had been uneventful so far. Just a few problems here and there, but nothing too serious. Potter was enjoying his time with his friends, laughing and talking about Quidditch. It annoyed Snape to no end that the boy wasn't even preparing himself for the battle he was surely going to have to fight.

"Severus my boy, aren't you going to eat?" Dumbledore said. Snape glared at him before turning back to his food.

Snape kept his mind busy during dinner to avoid any conversation. He ran over his mental checklist and reminded himself to brew more Wolfsbane potion for Lupin.

Suddenly the doors to the Great Hall were slammed open. Filch was sliding across the floor like he was nothing.

He slammed into the steps in front of the staff table. Everyone looked up at the person who sent Filch flying like that.

Standing in the doorway of the Great Hall was a person in a black hooded cloak, black tight pants, and a tight black top. Whoever it was, they were obviously female, and had every teenage boy in that room staring at her cleavage, even though there wasn't a lot showing. The Great Hall was silent.

Her face couldn't be seen, nor her hair. She started up slowly toward the staff table. By this time Filch had regained consciousness and was pleading with the headmaster to forgive him for letting her in.

Dumbledore nodded and kept his eyes on the strange person walking up toward them. Filch took to hiding behind the staff table, behind Dumbledore.

Whoever this girl was, she wasn't a witch. She didn't carry a wand, although two daggers could be seen strapped to each thigh as her cloak billowed menacingly behind her. A sword could be seen on her back along with a large muggle gun hooked onto her back next to the sword. She was scary.

When she reached Harry she stopped and stared at him. Harry could feel her eyes boring into his eyes, even though he couldn't see them. She frightened him a little.

"Just like James," she said in a soft voice before continuing her way up to Dumbledore.

Harry turned to Hermione and Ron with a confused look on his face before looking up at the staff table.

Snape was watching this girl with scrutinizing eyes. The way she walked looked familiar, but he couldn't figure it out. Snape didn't like not knowing. He kept one hand on his wand just in case.

Lupin also thought the girl seemed familiar, but in a different way. Because his sense of smell was higher because he is a werewolf, she smelled familiar, but from where he couldn't be sure.

The girl climbed the steps to the staff table and stood directly in front of Dumbledore.

"How might we help you?" Dumbledore asked in a kind voice. The hooded figure looked at him.

"I believe we need to talk, and privacy would be better suited for such a conversation," the girl said. Both Snape and Lupin snapped to attention when she spoke. She sounded familiar.

Dumbledore nodded and stood. "Prefects, please take your students back to your houses. Dinner is dismissed. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley please remain behind."

The students filed out and Harry, Ron, Hermione made there way up to the staff table. They looked a little nervous, especially standing next to the strange woman with the weaponry.

Once the Great Hall was empty of students Dumbledore sat and addressed the visitor. "Now, what news was so great that it required my immediate attention?"

"He's coming," she said. Dumbledore nodded. "We are well aware of his intentions through our own methods."

"You mean through your spy?"

Silence graced the Great Hall once again as the woman's words sank in. She knew about Severus being a spy. What else could she know?

"Please explain," Dumbledore asked without the trademark twinkle in his eyes.

"He knows about Professor Snape, and he is coming. Not in a few months, not in a few years, but now."

"Now?" Harry asked, surprised.

"The Dark Lord will march on Hogwarts in three days time," she said. "You need to get the students out of here, and you need to do it as soon as possible."

Snape stood and walked around the table and up to the woman. "And why should we listen to you?" He asked.

In a flash she had a dagger at Snape's throat. He didn't move. His hands remained at his sides and his eyes impassive.

"I suggest, _Professor_, that you learn when to speak and when to not," the girl said without turning her head toward him.

"This isn't helping anyone," Dumbledore said coming to his feet. Snape backed away from her as she slowly lowered her dagger.

Once her dagger was properly sheathed did the conversation start again.

"There isn't any time for discussion. The children have to be moved out tonight before they move any closer."

Lupin stood and walked closer to the girl, but stayed behind Snape. He sniffed the air, even with Snape glaring at him, and then turned to the headmaster.

"She isn't human," he said. Everyone stared at the strange woman, who still had the hood up over her face.

"If you aren't human, then what the hell are you?" Snape said. The woman turned her head slightly and looked at Snape with the hood still up.

"You wouldn't be able to handle it Severus, so don't bother asking," she said.

Snape was fuming. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at her. While Harry and the others backed up, the woman just turned completely toward him.

"There is no need for violence," Dumbledore said. Snape started to lower his wand when she spoke again.

"It is alright Headmaster. Let him do it. He'll regret it afterwards anyway," she said. Snape snapped. He pointed his wand at the girl and shouted, "_Expelliarmus_"

The woman flew through the air and landed at the other end of the table. Her cloak flew up and covered her head. Her left hand suddenly shot out of from under the cloak.

"_Petrificus Totalus_," she yelled.

Snape was hit with a bright light and then hit the ground, unable to move. Lupin walked forward and removed the spell from him. Snape sat up and looked over at the girl. Lupin remained next to him.

The woman was standing with her back to them. Her hood was down now revealing long light brown hair.

"I warned you Severus," she said turning to them. Severus and Lupin both gasped at the same time.

She looked about seventeen, maybe eighteen. She had light brown eyes with a flash of green in a certain light. She was very beautiful, and pale. Her hair framed her face perfectly. Her full lips were set in a sneer that could rival Snape's. She was scarier without the hood up. She was scarier than Snape, if that was possible, but she was easier to look at.

"Erica?" Lupin said in surprise. Erica's eyes moved from Snape to Lupin. Her expression never changed. "Remus," she said in a cool voice. There was no emotion in it, just the word she said.

Lupin stood and started toward her, but stopped as he remembers what he smelled earlier.

"Your not human anymore," he said. Erica raised an eyebrow. "According to the papers I'm not alive," she said.

"But you obviously are," Lupin said. Erica smirked and shook her head. "No, I died twenty years ago. What I am now is dead." Everyone stared at her in confusion. "I'm a vampire now," she said.

Snape stood and pointed his wand at her. He stepped up close to her, but still and arms length away. "We can't trust the word of a vampire," he said. Erica shrugged.

"Fine, then kill me. Then in three days time you will die yourself trying to protect those students you say are important. He isn't after just muggleborns anymore. He is going to kill everyone in the castle. No one is safe. All the muggleborns will meet their deaths next to the half-bloods and the purebloods. Not a single person will be spared. Do you want that on your already tainted soul?"

Snape didn't move. He just stared at her with his wand pointed on her chest. She didn't move either. They entered into a stare-off, neither looking away.

"Severus," Dumbledore said with an edge to his voice. Snape sneered at her and lowered his wand. Erica kept eye contact with Severus until he looked away.

"Erica?" Dumbledore said. "Erica Kartake?"

Erica nodded at Dumbledore. "That's my name, at least it was before my family disowned me. Now I am just Erica."

"How did this happen? You graduated the same year and Severus and I. I don't understand," Lupin said.

Erica turned back to Lupin. "I was at home alone when the vampires attacked the village. The house was destroyed and I was forced out. They caught me outside and started to kill me, until they realized just how powerful I was. By that time it was either kill me or make me a vampire. They made me a vampire. Everyone believed I died in the fire, except my parents. When I caught up with them and they discovered who I was, they sent me on my way. That's how this happened."

Snape just sneered at the woman. "How can we trust someone who will kill us in our sleep?"

"I'll have you know that I have never killed anyone, except the vampires that destroyed my life," she said. Snape narrowed his eyes at her and walked closer to her, but still a good two feet away.

"Then how have you lived without blood?"

"This isn't helping us right now. It is getting late and Harry needs his sleep and I don't want to be here when the sun comes up," Erica said.

"Severus, this isn't what is important right now. What's important is the children," Dumbledore said. Severus turned away from Erica again and stood in front of Dumbledore.

"What do you suggest we do Headmaster?"

"We have no choice. Whether Erica is telling the truth or not, it will be safer to send the children back to their homes. At least they won't all be together that way."

Severus looked at Erica out of the corner of his eyes. She was expressionless.

"Once the children are out of the castle, we can formulate a plan. Severus, I need you to keep Erica in your guestroom in your chambers. We will talk again in the morning. Good night everyone."

Dumbledore stood and left the room before Snape could protest. McGonagall escorted Harry, Hermione, and Ron, who were standing there in silence, back to Gryffindor tower. Lupin left to his rooms along with the other professors, leaving Snape and Erica alone.

Snape was still standing there with his back to Erica. She just stared at his back before speaking.

"I need to be down in the dungeons before sunrise. Since I don't know the way to your rooms, I need you to lead the way," she said. Snape turned to her sharply and grabbed her upper arms tightly.

"Why the hell did you come back?" he said angrily. Erica glared at him. She was finally showing emotion, she was pissed.

"If you want to remain in one piece, I suggest you release me now."

"If you want to find my quarters before the sun rises you will answer my question."

Erica growled at him. "I came to inform Dumbledore of the Dark Lord's plan. I could not stand by and allow innocent children to die."

Snape just stared at her. Finally he released her and pushed past her, his robes billowing out behind him.

"Bloody bastard," she said before rushing after him.

They walked next to each other in silence all the way down to the dungeons. Not a word was spoken until they reached Snape's quarters.

"Dark Potions," he said. The door to his quarters opened and he stepped in with Erica. She noted how nice it looked. The sitting room had books all over the walls, a dark mahogany desk to the right, a fireplace straight ahead with two large emerald green armchairs and a dark green sofa with silver trim. The carpet was dark green as well. To the right of the fireplace was another door.

"That door leads to a hallway. The first door on the left is the bathroom, the second door on the left is my private lab that has a door that leads to my office, the door on the right is the guest quarters, and the door at the end of the hall is my room. With that I take my leave of you," he said.

Snape headed for the door and opened it. He was about to walk through when he heard her voice again.

"I'm sorry about the past Severus," she said. "Perhaps in time you will come to understand why I did what I did and stop hating me."

"I never hated you," he said before heading off to his room, leaving her alone.

Erica sighed and went to her room. She didn't even bother looking around. She removed her clothes and climbed into the bed naked. She was asleep in seconds.

Snape changed into silk pajama bottoms and climbed into his own bed. His thoughts wasn't on sleep, they were on the woman in the other room and how she had tortured his soul for twenty years. _Now she's back. Maybe it will be different this time around._

He shook his head at that thought. Things would never be different between them. He ruined his friendship with her all those years ago, and there would never be anything between them ever again. _She hasn't even changed in twenty years, but I guess that goes with the whole eternal life thing._

Snape sighed, closed his eyes and entered a restless sleep.


	2. Day One: Breakfast

Snape awoke to screaming early the next morning. He glanced at his clock and saw that it was six in the morning. He rushed out of his room with just his pajama bottoms on. He knew the sound was coming from inside one of his rooms.

Snape's thoughts paled at the idea that Erica may have found the secret passage into the Slytherin common room and kidnapped one of his charges for dinner. He rushed to her room and slammed the door open with his wand out in front.

He looked over at Erica on the bed. It was then he noticed the sunlight on her arms. There was steam rising from her arms, the sun was hurting her.

"Damn it," he said. He dropped his wand and rushed over to the bed. Grabbing both the blanket and Erica, he lifted her up and took her into the sitting room. He set her on the couch and looked at her arms. She was burned slightly on her forearms, but he could fix it. He gently ran his hand over one of her burns.

The moment he touched her, Erica's eyes flew open and had her hand at his neck, gripping tightly.

"Erica," Snape said while trying to breath. Erica's eyes widened and she released him. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely. Snape's hands went to his throat to check damage.

Erica was about to sit up; when she remembered that she wasn't wearing any clothes. Snape looked down at her and noticed the same thing.

"Where are your clothes?" he asked. Erica just looked up at him with cool eyes.

"You try sleeping in clothes like mine and then we'll talk," she answered. Snape nodded in understanding.

"What happened?" Erica asked. Snape looked at her confused. "You don't know?"

"I just remember a great pain in my arms, but it seemed like a part of my dream," she replied.

"I forgot about the guestroom having that window that reflects the same view outside as one would see from a higher room. I didn't think about it and for that I apologize," Snape said.

Erica raised an eyebrow. "Wow…Severus Snape apologizing. I never thought I'd see the day. I must be real special."

Snape just glared at her instead of answering. "Let me get you something for your burns," Snape said after glaring at her for several minutes.

Snape entered his private stores and started searching around for a burn solvent that could be rubbed into one's skin to heal a burn.

He finally found it and carried it back into the sitting room. He stopped in shock when he arrived, and just stood there and stared.

Erica was standing in front of the fire, her blanket wrapped around her like a toga, her shoulders bare with her arms crossed holding up the blanket. The back slipped down a bit, showing the silky looking skin of her back. Her long hair tousled every which way looking like she has just been made love to with her eyes going green in the light from the fire. If anyone had walked in at that point, they would have misconstrued the entire situation. Snape was in awe. He didn't even move when she looked up at him and they locked eyes.

"Professor?" she said. When she spoke it knocked him back into reality. If Snape had been the kind of person to blush, he would have then. He had been caught staring at her.

He handed her the bottle of the burn solvent he went searching for. "I am going back to bed now," he said.

"Where do I sleep?" she asked as she applied the solvent to her arms. Snape groaned in frustration. He wasn't giving up his bed, he didn't want her here among his books, and he couldn't send her back into the guestroom without killing her. So where to put her?

"Follow me," he said. Erica raised an eyebrow, but followed him. She had to walk slowly and hold onto the blanket tight. She kept her eyes on his firm back. He looked good in just his pajama bottoms. He had muscular arms from stirring caldrons all day long that weren't too muscular for his body, but just right.

I wonder if he is wearing anything underneath them… 

Erica frowned and shook her head mentally at the thought. She shouldn't be thinking of Snape like that, especially with their past together.

Snape was having a problem himself not looking at the girl behind him in just the blanket. They entered his bedroom and Erica was in surprise how nice it was, and how dark.

There wasn't a window in this room. "_Lumos_," Erica said with a wave of her hand. The room flooded with soft candlelight. It would be rather romantic under different circumstances. The room had black carpet and black furniture. The only splash of color was on his bed, where he had dark emerald green sheets and blankets. Even the pillows were black.

"You are real dark aren't you?" Erica asked staring at Snape's back. He turned toward her slowly and stared at her.

"_Accio wand_," he said. His wand flew into the room from where he left it. He conjured up a cot for her to sleep on and handed her a pillow.

"Good night," he said as he crawled back into bed.

"Thank you, and good night," she replied. She walked over to the cot and placed the pillow on it. She kept her back to Snape as she unwrapped the blanket from around her body. She lay down on the cot with the blanket over her body and fell into a deep sleep.

Snape whispered, "_Nox_" before slipping into slumber world himself.

Erica woke up a couple hours later. At first she was a little disoriented from the night before and was surprised to find herself on a small cot. Then she remembered what happened. She sat up, holding the blanket in place, and looked over at Snape's bed. It was empty. She listened and could hear a shower running.

Erica lie back down and let out a sigh of relief. She wouldn't have to deal with a half naked Snape this morning. She stood up and wrapped the blanket around her just like last night.

She sighed and picked up the pillow Snape loaned her and placed it on his bed before proceeding to make the bed. She was just finishing when she felt a presence behind her. She froze before flying up over the bed and landing on the other side, all without losing her blanket.

She looked up at the man on the other side of the bed and breathed a sigh of relief. "Damn Snape, you scared the shit out of me," she said putting one hand on her chest. Snape smirked. He was dressed in his usual black outfit, complete with billowing robes.

"Interesting how easy it is to scare a creature of the night," he said. Erica bit her tongue to say anything else. "May I take a shower, or do you have a problem with a 'creature of the night' using your shower. Despite what you may think, I still need human needs…"

"Like you need to eat?" Erica nodded.

"Yes, I need a glass of blood, not human blood, just blood of any sort, except vampire blood, of course."

Snape sneered at the thought, but nodded. "Take a shower and I will order breakfast for me and blood for you."

With that he disappeared into the sitting room. Erica just stood there stunned. Most people would freak out if she asked for a glass of blood in the morning, but Snape just went about like it was nothing.

_Guess he really doesn't care, or he figures this will all be over soon. That or he's planning on killing me…_

Erica shook her head at that thought and walked into the guestroom to retrieve her clothes and then walked into the bathroom.

The bathroom was gorgeous. It was brightly lit with silver everywhere. The floor was a bright emerald green with silver snakes engraved on it. The mirror was oval with an emerald trim. The sink was silver with a silver snake engraved on the faucet, and the shower was the best part. Unlike a normal shower, this one was more like a waterfall pouring down on you. Next to that was a gigantic emerald green bathtub with silver snake faucet. It looked big enough to fit a least three people in it comfortably, but Erica doubted Snape ever tried.

"This is so gorgeous," Erica said out loud to no one particular.

"I agree," Snape said. Erica turned to see him in the doorway. He was holding something in black.

"I thought you would like something besides those dirty clothes to wear. Minerva dug this up for you if you would like," he said placing the black outfit next to the sink. "I will take my leave of you now. Albus would like you to go to his office when you are able. Breakfast will arrive shortly."

Snape turned and walked out of the room with robes billowing out behind him. He walked into the sitting room and picked up his bottle of fire whiskey. He sank down into one of the armchairs in front of the fire. He leaned back and sighed.

_She still looks beautiful._ Snape took a swig of his fire whiskey and laid his head on the back of the chair. He sighed again as his mind wandered back to his school days.

Erica was standing in the shower letting the water run over her in waves. She felt relaxed and yet still tense.

_It is just because Severus is in the other room. Relax girl._

Erica sighed and stepped out of the shower and dried herself with a quick drying charm except her hair. She picked up the outfit McGonagall picked out for her.

It was a dress, which was something Erica despised, but it was very beautiful. She put it on and looked at herself in the mirror.

It was black, but upon closer inspection she noticed that there was a design in silver all throughout the dress. There were roses all along the dress in silver, but very faint. The dress appeared to be velvet, but felt like silk under her fingers. It was a long dress that went down to the ground. It had a low neck with silver trim that showed off some cleavage, but still remain in taste. It was tight in the bosom, but she could still breathe and it showed off her figure great. The arms were belled out with silver trim like the neckline. There was also silver trim along the bottom of the dress. Erica bit back a giggle.

_I can't believe that the head of Gryffindor owns something with Slytherin colors on it._

Erica dried her hair and looked at herself in the mirror again. Her light brown hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back. She realized that the back of the dress was low. It stopped at the small of her back and was held together with interwoven strings charmed to tie automatically to fit the wearer.

Erica smiled and nodded. She transfigured her boots into comfortable shoes that would go with the dress and stepped out of the bathroom. She put her clothes back in her room and walked into the sitting room.

She had to smile. Snape was sitting in his chair with his head back, eyes closed, and a bottle of fire whiskey in his hand.

Erica walked over and touched his hand to wake him up. She gasped as a strange sensation took over and she found herself in his thoughts.

* * *

"_Hi, My name is Erica. What's yours?" a fifteen-year-old Erica said holding out her hand. She was dressed in her Gryffindor school outfit talking to a sixteen-year-old Severus dressed in a Slytherin school outfit. _

_He sneered at her before turning away from her and paying attention to the professor in their Defense against the Dark Arts class. _

_Erica shrugged and turned back to the teacher._

_Class let out and Erica was talking to a young Lupin, James Potter, and Sirus Black when Snape walked up behind her._

"_My name is Severus Snape," he said before walking away. Erica watched him walk away in surprise while the boys with anger._

"_I wonder what got into him. Usually he never talks to Gryffindors unless forced," James said. The boys shrugged their shoulders and walked off to their next class. Erica followed Snape. _

_When she finally caught up with him, he was in the library studying. She sat across from him and pulled out a book, quill, and parchment. Snape eyed her with curiosity before turning back to his book._

_They studied together in silence. Finally Snape spoke up. "What are you doing here?" he asked._

"_Studying," she said. "Plus I wanted to talk to you, but you looked busy and I didn't want to disturb you."_

"_What about?" he inquired. Erica looked up and locked her brown eyes with his black ones. _

"_I want us to be friends," she said before looking back at her book. "Why?"_

_She sighed and looked up at him again. "I think that you are pretty smart and I want to get to know you better. Is that a crime?"_

"_Obviously you don't understand the houses," Snape said. "Slytherins and Gryffindors have never gotten along, and probably never will. Why would you want to be friends with a Slytherin?"_

"_I don't. I want to be friends with Severus Snape. Do you think that is possible?" she said looking directly into his eyes._

"_But I am a Slytherin," he said. "Your logic makes no sense."_

"_I'll make you a deal. We become friends and you are no longer a Slytherin, and I am no longer a Gryffindor. We are simply Severus Snape and Erica Kartake, two people who want to be friends. Sound fair?" she said holding out her hand. _

_Snape eyed her hand for a few moments before taking it in his own. "Fair," he said. _

_The two went back to studying in silence, but this time with the beginnings of a friendship between them.

* * *

_

Snape opened his eyes and sat up. The first thing he noticed was Erica lying on the floor.

"Erica?" he asked concerned. She groaned and started to stand. Snape stood and helped her up. Once standing she turned to Snape and thanked him.

"What happened?" he asked. Erica shook her head.

"Damned if I know," she said putting her hand on her head. "I was just coming over here to wake up you up, I touched you, and then I had a dream of when you and I decided to become friends. Then I woke up."

_Strange she would dream about the same thing I was thinking about._

It was at this point he noticed the dress she was wearing. She was beautiful; there was no mistake about that. The design on the dress was stunning and quite detailed. The neckline was tasteful, yet was low enough to get his blood boiling. He was secretly thanking God that he wore enough layers to cover up the fact that his pants were getting a little tight.

Erica looked up and noticed something in Snape's eyes before they turned cold again. She didn't have enough time to distinguish what it was before it was gone. Her heightened smell was picking something up, but it was so faint that she didn't think anything of it.

"So, where's breakfast?" she said. About then Dobby appeared with a tray of food and a glass of a thick red liquid.

"Your meal, sir," he said. Dobby sat the tray and glass down on the desk and then disappeared. Snape walked over to the desk and picked up the glass.

"Here is your blood. I believe it is pig's blood if that makes any difference," he said handing her the glass.

"Thank you," she said taking the glass from him. Snape just stared at her as she started to lift the glass to her lips.

"Are you going to watch me drink this?" she asked. Snape looked into her eyes. "Why not? Should I turn away just because I am aware that you are drinking blood?"

"Sorry," she said angrily. "It's just that most people wouldn't want to watch someone drink blood."

"Well, I'm not 'most people,'" he said. She shrugged and drank her blood. Snape stood there and watched her. She was very careful not to spill anything on the dress. When she finished, he handed her a napkin and she wiped any extra blood from her mouth.

"I can see why most people wouldn't be able to handle it," he said taking the empty glass from her.

"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked. Snape looked back at his food and then at the empty cup in his hand before looking at Erica.

"I lost my appetite," he said. Erica started laughing, distracting Snape from the empty glass of blood.

She had her own unique look about her. Her face lit up when she laughed, which was something would choose to forget, but couldn't. A knock at the door distracted Snape from the laughing beauty. He walked over to the door and opened it, forgetting about the glass in his hand.

"Interesting Severus. If you want the rumors about you being a vampire to stop, you may not want to encourage it by drinking thick…red…blood?"

"Enter Lupin," Snape said. Lupin entered cautiously. Erica was smiling, but she was over her giggles. Snape placed the empty glass on the table and turned to Lupin.

"To what do we owe the honor of your presence?" Snape said crossing his arms across his chest.

"We have decided not to evacuate the children from the school," Lupin said.

"WHAT!" Snape and Erica said simultaneously jumping up.


	3. Day One: Assignment

**I would like to say that the spells seen here are from The Harry Potter Series Spellbook and the potions info is from the Hogwarts School site I found, but now I can't again. But needless to say, I didn't make them up. Enjoy the latest chapter.**

"What changed the Headmaster's mind? Last night he was all for getting the children out of Hogwarts," Erica exclaimed. She was getting confused, and angry.

"He thought it over last night and realized that we would never be able to defeat all of Voldemort's army with just a few people. He wants the two of you to teach them to fight," Lupin said.

"Why me?" Erica said.

"Hand-to-hand combat with you, Erica, and Snape here can teach them how to duel properly and fight using a wand," Lupin said. Erica sighed and fell into an armchair.

"This is getting difficult. Did the Headmaster ever take into consideration that I may not be very good at hand-to-hand combat? Or if I was that part of it was because I have abilities that come with being a vampire?"

Lupin shook his head. "He just wants you to teach them how to fight without a wand. He wants them to know how to defend themselves."

"He's crazy. The damn lemon drops are going to his head," she said. Snape felt the corners of his mouth twitch while fighting a smile.

"Albus doesn't care about you being a vampire. He was also curious to see if the two of you could work together to find a cure," Lupin said.

Snape sneered at Lupin. "A cure for what?"

"For Erica."

Erica turned and looked at Lupin. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I asked the Headmaster if there was any known cures for being turned into a vampire. He said that he didn't know, but it would be a good use of time for you and Snape so when the war is over to can change back."

"And if I die?"

Snape and Lupin looked at the young woman with confusion in their eyes. "What?" Lupin asked.

"If I am killed in the final battle, then the whole time that Professor Snape and I worked on the potion would be a waste. It would do no good," she said.

"Actually it would," Snape said. "Even if you died, then we could use the potion to save others from the same fate."

Lupin looked at Snape with shock. "How can you say that? Of course she is going to survive. Don't even think that she isn't."

"You don't know that for sure," Erica said standing. "If the Headmaster wants it done, I'm game."

"I will attempt this impossible endeavor," Snape said. "When do we begin training the children?"

"Today," Lupin said. "You can work in the Room of Requirement with the fifth years and up. Everyone else will attend classes like normal. Don't worry about your classes Severus they have been covered by the other professors. You will start with the fifth years first, followed by sixth years and then the seventh years. Have fun."

Lupin turned and started to leave. He stopped in the doorway and turned back to Erica.

"By the way, Erica. That dress looks beautiful on you. I'm almost jealous of you Severus…almost," Lupin said before walking out the door.

Snape turned to Erica, who had her eyebrows raised. "Well, that was certainly nice of him," she said.

Snape sighed and walked over to the desk and picked up a piece of toast and buttered it before eating it.

"I guess you got over the shock," Erica said before walking back into her room. Even though the dress was beautiful, she still needed to equip her weapons.

She decided that the two daggers would be fine for the day. She wrapped the dagger sheaths onto her upper thighs. She looked at the dress and mumbled a spell that created a slit going up both sides of the dress that stopped about mid-thigh.

"That's better…and gives me better access," she said to herself.

She turned and opened the door to walk back into the sitting room, however Snape was waiting for her right on the other side.

"Don't you ever knock or something? I'm going to have to buy you a damn bell," she said.

Snape creased his eyebrows in confusion. Erica sighed. "It is an expression. When someone is sneaky or you lose something, you say that you should tie a bell around its neck to either be warned that it's coming or where it is."

"Which is it in this case?"

Erica took a step back. "Are you trying to piss me off?"

"No," Snape said. "You simply mentioned that you needed to buy me a bell, and I was curious as to whether I was too sneaky or if you lost me."

"Don't bring up the past _Snape_, cause you will regret it," Erica said moving to pass Snape. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back in front of him.

"Don't talk to me about regret," he growled at her. "I know more about that than anyone."

"Bullshit," she said. Snape's eyes flashed his anger at her as hers flashed it right back. Snape's grip on her arm tightened, but Erica didn't feel it. She was too angry.

They were inches from each other, when someone knocked on the door. Neither one of them heard the knock, but they definably heard the voice behind it.

"Severus, Erica, are you in there," came the voice of the Headmaster knocking both Erica and Snape out of their self-induced rage at each other.

Snape released Erica violently and went to let Dumbledore in.

"Ah, there you are my boy," Dumbledore said walking in. Snape greeted the Headmaster and let him in.

"Erica," Snape heard Dumbledore say with a bit of fear behind his voice. Snape turned to see Erica standing there pointing her gun at him with anger in her eyes. Snape took a step towards Erica.

"Don't move Snape," she said in a calm voice. Snape stopped moving, but he did speak. "What are you doing, Erica?"

"I'm sorry Headmaster, but you have to get these children out of here before the armies come."

"Armies?" Snape asked. "What else aren't you telling us?"

"There is a reason we aren't sending the children away. Several of the students have parents who are Deatheaters. If we send them home it would be like advertising that we know about the attack," Dumbledore said. "It is already bad enough that they know about Severus. Please put the weapon down."

Erica eyed Dumbledore and glanced at Snape before lowering the weapon. Snape was instantly at her side and removing the gun from her hands.

"What the hell were you thinking? Damn foolish girl," Snape said. Erica balled her hands into a fist. She wanted nothing more than to punch him.

"Save the violence for the demonstrations when teaching the students," Dumbledore said.

"Do you really think it is wise for us to get into a fist fight Headmaster?" Erica said glaring at Snape.

"Who said anything about a fist fight?" Snape said pulling his wand out from him sleeve and aiming it at Erica. "Severus," Dumbledore said.

Erica smirked. "You don't have the balls," she said.

"I already used magic on you once," Snape retorted.

"You didn't know it was me then," Erica said. "Now that you know, do you really think you can kill me?"

"Let's see, shall we?" Snape said with a determined look on his face.

The two of them stood there facing off until Dumbledore had enough and pulled out his wand. He pointed it at Snape.

"_Rictusempra_," he said.

Snape suddenly dropped his wand and fell to the floor, clutching his stomach. He was making a muffled sound. Erica moved a little closer only to realize he was laughing.

"Not so tough now are you?" she said.

Dumbledore pointed his wand at Erica. "_Tarantallegra_," he said. Erica started river dancing.

"Now that I have your attention," Dumbledore said, "I want you to understand that we can't send the children home. We need them to fight because we are too few. If we can get some Aurors here then we will send them home, but as it is we don't. They stay and they fight. Now you two need to get along. Teach them to defend themselves. I don't want to have this conversation again. _Finite Incantatem_."

Snape was sitting on the floor, and Erica fell to the floor next to him.

"Do we understand each other?" Dumbledore asked. Snape and Erica nodded. "Good. You will begin with hand-to-hand combat. Severus will help you with demonstrations. Be in the Room of Requirement in twenty minutes. The children will join you there shortly."

Dumbledore walked out of the room, leaving Snape and Erica sitting on the ground.

"Damn man is too smart for his own good," Snape said standing. He held out his hand to help Erica up. He pulled her up using more force than necessary causing her to slam into him.

Erica allowed Snape to pull her up. He was obviously stronger than he looked cause he pulled her too hard. She slammed into his hard body and almost fell back, but his arms wrapped around her. Once she was steady she looked up and her eyes connected with his black ones.

_So dark, so mysterious, just like I remember._

Snape was lost in her brown eyes. He could smell vanilla and strawberries. He knew he should let her go, but he couldn't.

_Just let her go…wow, she has gorgeous eyes just like I remember. Release her. She's a vampire._

At that thought he released her and took a step back. He looked at the fire, but glanced at her through his hair. She looked upset and confused.

"We should go," she said. Snape nodded. He retrieved his wand and the two of them walked out of his quarters and through the dungeons.

It wasn't until they were out of the dungeons that they realized that they might have a problem.

The position of the sun caused there to be almost no shade the way they had to go.

"Is there any other way around?" Erica asked standing in the shadows. Snape looked at the light and shook his head.

"Not unless we are going to be late, and we can't be late," he replied. Erica sighed.

"Wonderful," she said. "What the hell are we going to do?"

Snape stood with his hands behind his back thinking. Erica sighed while thinking. She glanced at Snape.

_Damn him. He can stand there in all those layers and not care. He has that damn teaching robe that covers everything…_

Erica's eyes widened in glee and a smile spread across her face. She walked over to Snape and began inspecting his teaching robe.

"What are you doing?" Snape demanded. Erica looked up at him with a smile on her face. Snape was taken back. She was beautiful.

"I have an idea," she said. "You open your robe and wrap it around me, then the two of us walk to the Room of Requirement."

"You suggest that I hide you under my robe?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow. Erica nodded.

"I don't think so," Snape said crossing his arms.

Erica shrugged. "Fine, then you come up with something."

"I will," Snape said.

Five minutes later Snape was walking along with Erica pressed up against him under his teaching robes.

They arrived at the Room of Requirement early. Snape opened the door and walked in with Erica still clinging to him, even though they were away from the sun.

"You can let me go now," Snape said. Erica was breathing heavily.

"Are you okay? Erica?" Erica wasn't listening. She looked at Snape before fainting. Snape caught her before she hit the ground. A couch appeared against the wall and Snape laid her down there.

Snape reached down and brushed her hair away from her face. His finger grazed her skin when he felt a shock.

* * *

"_Hey, how long do you allow the Lacewing Flies to stew for when making a Polyjuice potion?" Erica asked._

"_Twenty-one days," Snape said without looking up._

"_Thanks," Erica replied. _

_They were in the library studying for an upcoming potions exam. Over the past few months their friendship had grown._

"_I have a question," Snape said. Erica looked up with raised eyebrows. "But you know everything. How can you ask me a question? I'm an idiot."_

"_Not on this subject," Snape said. "I was thinking of asking this girl to the Halloween dance. I am really afraid to ask her. What do you think I should do?"_

_Erica smiled. "Well, do you think she likes you?"_

_Snape shrugged. "If she does she hides it well."_

"_Do I know her?"_

"_Yes."_

"_How well do I know her?"_

"_Pretty well."_

"_Do you want me to ask her for you?"_

_Snape let out a breath. "Yes. I really think that Lily likes James. I don't see it."_

"_Oh," Erica said sadly. "I don't know about that, but I'll ask her for you."_

"_Really?" Snape said jumping up._

_Erica nodded. "Sure, but don't have your hopes too high."_

_Snape was already across the table hugging her. "Thank you so much Erica. What would I do without you?"_

_Erica nodded and closed her eyes against the tears welling up in her eyes.

* * *

_

Snape woke up on the floor. A couple of his fifth year Slytherins was standing around him, looking at him funny.

"Professor Snape? Are you okay?" one of them asked.

"I'm fine," Snape snapped. He sat up and looked at the couch. Erica was still there, but she was coming around.

"What the hell happened?" she said. Snape stood and walked over to her.

"The children are here. If you want to beat me up, you have to get up." Erica's eyes snapped open at the sound of Snape's voice. She stood up in one quick motion.

"Let's do it," she said.

Snape gave her a small smile before turning to the fifth years with his usual scowl.

"We are going to start practicing some dueling with our wands along with hand-to-hand combat. The Headmaster wishes you able to defend yourselves in these dangerous times. This is my assistant, Erica." Erica glared at Snape. "She will assist me in demonstrating what we will be teaching."

Erica walked forward and asked everyone to sit down along the edges of the room. Then she walked over to Snape.

"You may want to remove your teaching robes, sir. They could slow you down," Erica whispered.

Snape glared at her with such a scary look that the students on the couch moved when he came near. He removed his teaching robes leaving him in slacks with a white shirt and a black vest. Snape walked back to the middle of the room.

"The first lesson is defense," Erica said. Erica turned to Snape.

"Ready?" she said taking her pose.

"Always."


	4. Day One: SING

"Ready?" she said taking her pose

"Always."

Erica and Snape began by slowly circling each other before either made their first move. Snape started with a punch, which Erica easily blocked. They continued that way for several minutes. Snape would throw a punch and Erica would block.

"Can't you do any better old man?" Erica said. Snape glared at her before throwing a punch at her jaw, which she blocked, and another two seconds at her gut, which she missed.

"Damn," she said clutching her stomach. Within seconds Snape was behind her holding her in a headlock.

"This is so easy," Snape whispered in her ear. "What happened to all that talk earlier?"

"You want to play? Fine, let's play," Erica whispered back.

"Hey everyone," she yelled, "watch this. Solar Plexus," She elbowed Snape in the side. "Instep," she stomped on his foot. "Nose," She knocked him in the nose. "And groin," she said swinging her arm down and racked Snape. He fell forward placing his forehead on the ground.

The room was silent. The students were fighting back their laughter. Erica walked up behind Snape and leaned down next to his ear.

"That hurt?" she said innocently. Snape just growled before slamming his fist onto the floor. Erica smiled.

"Temper, temper. You don't want to embarrass yourself in front of your students," she said before turning to the class.

"That move I just demonstrated is called SING. Solar Plexus, Instep, Nose, and Groin. As you can see, it works very WELL!"

Snape grabbed Erica's leg and pulled back. Erica lost balance and fell forward. She rolled over and started to stand up, but Snape jumped on her.

"Professor, I think you…"

"Don't tell me what I think," Snape said in low, dangerous voice. "That hurt like hell." Erica smiled.

"I thought it would," she said. Snape brought his hand to her throat. "Don't make me kill you," he said.

"You can't kill me that way, and you know it. Now let me up."

Snape growled and allowed Erica to stand. It took him a few minutes more to stand. He glared at the students who were smiling trying to hide their amusement at his situation. It would be a story to tell, Professor Snape getting beaten up by a girl.

Snape and Erica taught a few more defensive moves without any words spoken between them when they broke for lunch. Snape and Erica walked back to his quarters without any fear of the sun.

"Well, that was an entertaining day," Erica said when she walked in. Snape just glared at her as he hobbled in. Erica eyed him curiously.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," Snape snapped at her. Erica raised her hands in defense.

"Hey, just asking," she said. Snape rolled his eyes as he walked over to the fireplace.

"Dobby," Snape said in a commanding voice that startled Erica. She just stared at him. Dobby appeared and nodded at Snape.

"Bring me some lunch…and her some lunch as well," Snape said. Dobby turned to Erica. "Would Miss like more pig's blood?"

Erica looked down at the little house elf and shook her head. "No, just bring me whatever Professor Snape will be having."

Dobby nodded before disappearing. Snape looked up at Erica in surprise.

"I thought that vampires only drank blood."

"Common misconception. We have to have blood regularly, but not for every meal. We eat other foods to keep our own blood supply up, in case we get shot, sire another vampire, or are without blood for several weeks."

Snape nodded and fell into an armchair. "Interesting," he said. Erica gave him a small smile before sitting in the other armchair.

Erica sat in her chair and just admired the man in front of her. She looked at his crooked nose and smiled as she remembered why it was such. Snape looked like he was sleeping as Erica cautiously reached over and touched his hand. A shock went through her and she fell to the ground.

* * *

"_I'm so sorry Severus," Erica said. "I really thought she would say yes."_

_Snape shook his head. "No, you knew the truth. You two are the best of friends." Snape turned and looked at her. "How could you do that to me? Embarrass me like that? The dance is tonight and now I don't even have a date."_

_Erica shook her head. "No, I didn't embarrass you. I didn't even ask her. She told me about James and I didn't tell her anything."_

"_Hey, Erica. What are you doing talking to him?" a new voice said. Both Snape and Erica turned to see James, Sirius, Lupin, and Lily Evans standing there. James had his arm around Lily._

"_What's going on here Erica? Is he bothering you?" Lupin asked. Erica shook her head._

"_We were just talking," she said. "If you really want to know, I was bothering him." Erica turned back to Snape. "I'm sorry for disturbing you Severus." _

_Erica turned and walked away from everyone quickly. Snape watched her leave with disappointment in his eyes. _

_He watched as Lupin raced after Erica. Deciding to head them off, Snape went another direction and spotted Erica at the end of the hall. He stayed in the shadows and walked closer to her. _

_He was just about to reach out and touch her when Lupin rounded the corner. Snape backed up into a small space behind one of the suits of armor that ran along the hallway._

"_Erica, what's wrong? Have you been crying?" _

"_No," Erica said with a slight quiver in her voice. It was obvious that she had been._

"_Did Snape say something to you? Merlin, if he did I'll kill him," Lupin said shaking his fist._

"_No, he didn't say anything. That's the problem," Erica said. Snape creased his eyebrows in confusion._

"_What do you mean Erica? What's going on?" Lupin said placing his hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes. Snape felt this overwhelming urge to kill Lupin the minute he touched her._

"_I think…No, I am. I'm in love with him," Erica said before a new round of fresh tears came. "He doesn't even know. All he ever talks about is…another girl."_

_Lupin pulled Erica into a hug and she cried into his chest. He slowly stroked her back. Snape was clenching and unclenching his fists at the sight, but his mind was elsewhere. She was in love with him?_

"_It's okay Erica," Lupin said. Snape leaned forward to listen to the conversation a little better. "If Snape can't see what a wonderful person you are then he doesn't deserve you. Besides…I love you."_

_Snape rolled his eyes. "Really?" Erica said pulling away and looking Lupin in the eyes. Snape looked back at the two of them._

"_I was wondering if you wanted to go to the dance with me. I know it's last notice and all but…"_

"_I'd love to," Erica said quietly. Lupin smiled widely. _

"_That's great. Now, let's go get you cleaned up or else you are going to look absolutely terrible at the dance and I will never want to be seen with you again."_

_Erica gave a faint laugh at Lupin's attempt to cheer her up. It was sweet, but she preferred Severus' honesty._

"_Come on," Lupin said leading her toward the Gryffindor common room. _

_Once they were around the corner Snape came out of his hiding place. His mind was a whirlwind of questions. The most important one was, does he love her in return?

* * *

_

"Sir, Dobby needs help sir." Snape groaned and opened his eyes. Dobby was grabbing his leg to get his attention. Snape opened his eyes and looked down at the house elf. He was about to reprimand the elf, when he noticed Erica lying on the floor.

"Erica?" Snape said. He reached down and gently shook her. Erica jumped up and screamed. There were tears in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Snape said sliding down to the floor next to her. Erica just looked up at Snape with tearstained cheeks and a bewildered look on her face.

"Severus," she said, "when Remus asked me to the Halloween ball seventh year, were you standing behind a suit of armor?"

Snape narrowed his eyes at her. Surly they weren't seeing the same things. He nodded and Erica's eyes widened even more.

"Earlier when I fainted, what happened?"

"I picked you up and placed you on the couch the room created for us. I think I touched your skin, and I got shocked. Then I thought about the time I asked you about Lily going to the Halloween dance with me, only…"

"Only you saw it from a different angle?" Snape nodded.

"What is going on?" Snape shook his head.

"I don't know, but I think the Headmaster may know. Stay here and eat. I'll be right back." Erica nodded as Snape stood and hobbled to the Headmaster's office.

"Chocolate covered cherries," Snape said as the secret stairway opened. _What a silly password._

Snape walked up to the Headmaster's door and knocked. "Enter Severus," Dumbledore said.

Snape opened the door and walked in. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk eating some kind of sweet.

"Warhead?" Dumbledore asked. Snape narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "Warhead, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore nodded. "It is a strange muggle sweet that comes in different flavors and is extremely sour," he said popping another one into his mouth. Dumbledore scrunched his face up at the taste of it, until the sour subsided.

Snape just stared at him like he was nuts.

"So, what brings you here?" Dumbledore asked. Snape sighed and hobbled over to the desk before sitting down in one of the Headmaster's many armchairs.

"It's Erica. Something is happening…"

"What do you mean?"

"Every time one of us is asleep, or knocked out. If the other touches them they faint and we are seeing visions of our past," Snape said. "What do you think is going on?"

"Who did it happen too first?" Dumbledore asked seriously. Snape shook his head.

"Her, I think. Earlier today when we woke up I was resting and when I woke up she was on the floor. She said that she was just thinking about the day we met, which was the same thing I was thinking of."

Dumbledore nodded. "I see. This is quite common for vampires."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Dumbledore began, "when a vampire is created, it usually loses all its memories. In this case, Erica remembers everything from her past and the present. It may also have something to do with her powers being as extreme as they are."

"Then why is it affecting me?" Snape asked. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily as he answered.

"Perhaps it is because that when she was friends with you, she was the happiest, and the fact that her feelings were out of control when she was with you. Or maybe it is something else. I truly do not know."

Snape glared at Dumbledore. He knew more than what he was saying.

When Snape figured out Dumbledore wasn't going to say anymore he stood to leave. "Good-afternoon Headmaster," Snape said walking toward the door.

"Good luck Severus."

Snape hobbled back down to his quarters. He opened the door and Erica leaped up from the floor in surprise.

"What did he say?"

Snape looked at the young woman. She looked just like she did at graduation, beautiful and smart.

"He thinks it may have something to do with you being a vampire with powers and your past feelings for me."

Erica nodded and sank down into an armchair. Snape walked over and joined her.

"Why didn't you come to Diagon Alley that day?" Snape asked. Erica looked up at him with surprise in her eyes.

"I didn't think you would want to see me like this."

"Why would you think that?" Snape said. Erica rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on. If I had walked up to you then and told you I was a vampire you would have killed me on the spot. I know how you hate vampires."

"They killed my mother Erica," Snape said. Erica nodded. "I know."

"You're right though. I would have killed you. I wouldn't have even listened to your side." Erica nodded.

"That's why I didn't show up that day. That and it was daytime and I would have burned to death."

"I remember waiting for you all day," Snape said. "I just sat at the booth we always used to sit at drinking a cup of butterbeer wondering where you were. I stayed there until the placed closed and I was forced to leave. I figured that you must have forgotten about it so I wrote you a letter. I went to sleep with it on my side table so I would remember to send it in the morning.

"When I woke up, there was an owl tapping on my window. It was an invitation to your funeral. At first I thought it was a joke, and then I saw it in the Daily Prophet and realized it was true. Two days later I joined the Deatheaters."

"I'm sorry Severus," Erica said. Snape turned to her and nodded.

"I really thought you were dead," he said.

They sat there in silence until Snape looked up at the clock on the mantle.

"Come on, we have students to teach," he said standing up.

"I was there in Diagon Alley that day," Erica said suddenly. Snape turned and looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I was across the street hiding in the alleyway. I saw you at our booth. I was afraid to walk over there and say anything."

Snape was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. He walked over and opened the door. It was Lupin.

"What do you want?" Snape growled.

"Dumbledore informed me that you were injured today during the sessions and insisted that I come and take your place this afternoon while teaching the sixth and seventh years."

Snape looked at Lupin with fire in his eyes. "I don't need you to do that Lupin. I am perfectly capable of doing this myself."

"Not according to some of the students I've talked to. Many of the young men said that they couldn't believe that she did that to you. It made me curious, what did she do to you?"

Snape growled and turned back to Erica, who was fighting, unsuccessfully, a smile.

"We have a class to teach," Snape said pushing past Lupin. Erica walked out of Snape's quarters and shut the door behind her.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Lupin asked. Erica smiled brightly.

"I was teaching him to sing," she said before rushing off to catch up with Snape.

**Disclaimer: I would have put this at the beginning of the chapter, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise. I don't own the candy Warheads, or S.I.N.G. for Miss Congeniallity. (sorry if spelt wrong). I just thought it would be amusing. In fact after I wrote it that part of the story, I walked around to all my classes with a huge smile on my face. It is just so amusing. Please R and R. Talk to ya later. TTFN. Ta Ta For Now.**


	5. Day One: Heartbreak

Erica rushed to the Room of Requirement. She reached the door and placed her hand on the knob. It was then she felt a strange rush, like something was going to happen.

Cautiously she opened the door. A bright light was flying toward her. She ducked just in time before it hit her.

"How nice of you to join us?" Snape said in an even voice. Erica stood up and looked around the room. It was filled with fifth, sixth, and seventh year students. Snape was standing on a platform in the middle of the room. It looked like a dueling platform.

"Care to join me in a demonstration?" Snape asked with a slight edge to his voice. Erica eyed him while carefully stepping up onto the platform.

"Doesn't she need a wand?" Neville Longbottom yelled out from the crowd. Snape didn't even look at him when he responded.

"No, Mr. Longbottom."

Snape pointed his wand at Erica and smirked at her. Erica just stood there facing him and waited.

"_Furnunculus_," Snape yelled. A bright light was streaking towards her. Erica didn't try to jump out of the way, even though she had the time.

Instead she lifted her hand straight at the light. It hit her hand and pushed her back a couple inches, but she remained standing, and the light was still in her hand. It looked like she was holding a baseball or something, except it was glowing.

Erica looked up at Snape and smiled. Then she threw the ball back at him. Snape fell to the ground out of the light's path before looking back at Erica.

There were no boils on her hand, or any other part of her body. She lowered her hand and just stared at him.

"That all you got?" She said smugly. Snape glared at her before standing again.

"_Incendio_," Snape said. This time a fireball shot out of his wand and flew across the room at Erica. She was engulfed in flames, and for a few minutes Snape thought he might have killed her.

Once the fire calmed down, Erica was nowhere to be found. Snape took a few steps toward the area before he was hit with another curse.

His legs instantly felt like jelly. He looked up and noticed Erica was on the ceiling. She was sitting on the rafters that the room had provided. Snape murmured the counter-curse for his legs and stood again.

"Of course," he said walking backwards to his post, always keeping his eyes on Erica, "In an actual battle, one wouldn't be expected to play fairly. Your opponent may try to use an Unforgivable on you."

Erica jumped back onto the other end of the platform and looked back at Snape.

"If that occurs, you are either forced to give into the spell or be quick enough to get out of the way. No one can block them."

Erica raised her eyebrow. _He wouldn't dare._ Snape raised his wand and aimed it at her. Erica sighed. _He would._

"_Imperio_," Snape said loudly. Erica watched as the bright beam came spiraling toward her. Erica couldn't move, so she raised her hand and closed her eyes. She started mumbling under her breath.

Snape couldn't hear her, but was amazed by what she was doing. The curse stopped in front of her and was just suspended in the air. Snape walked slowly across the platform, around the bright ball of light that was his curse, and around the girl mumbling under breath. She seemed calmer somehow.

Snape inched his way around her and stood behind her. Her hair was flying behind her and her dress was flying like there wind blowing in the room. Several of the students had backed away from the vampire. Snape was careful not to touch Erica, but after a few minutes he had no choice.

He reached out and gently touched her shoulder. Erica opened her eyes, still mumbling, and then a bright blue light shot out of her body and hit the curse that was still suspended in mid-air. The curse and blue light disappeared.

Erica slammed back into Snape with such a force that they fell onto the platform. Snape moved Erica off him softly before looking at her. He was careful not to touch her skin. It wouldn't do to have him fainting in front of his students.

"Miss Kartake, wake up," he said forcefully. He turned to the crowd and pointed at Malfoy, who was quite easy to spot. "Malfoy, go fetch Madam Pompry and the Headmaster immediately. Send them straight here. What are you still doing here? Get moving!"

Draco was out the door within two seconds at a full run. Snape turned back to Erica. She looked like she was in pain. Her face was scrunched up in fear.

_Should I touch her? See what she's thinking about? If I do, I need someone here to explain…Miss Granger!_

"Miss Granger!" Snape said sharply. Hermione walked up onto the platform and over to Snape quickly.

"Yes, Professor?'

"I need you to explain to the Headmaster what just happened as I will be unable to do so," Snape said quickly.

"Why would you…"

Snape didn't listen to the rest. He touched Erica's hand slightly and was thrown into darkness.

* * *

_Coldness…darkness…blood. _

"_Feeling a little disoriented Erica? Don't worry that will pass with time," a cold voice sounded out of the darkness. Erica looked up. She was covered in dirt, blood, and soot._

"_What happened?"_

"_A miracle," the cold voice said again. Erica recognized the voice, but was unable to pinpoint where exactly._

"_I will not do anything you ask. You will have to…" The cold figure laughed._

"_I think that you would be mistaken. I have what I want…I have you. Can you feel your heartbeat?"_

_Erica reached up to find the pulse in her neck, but it wasn't there._

"_No, I don't think that you would. I knew that those vampires I hired would come in handy."_

_Erica's head snapped up. She remembered now. Her mother was out with father and Erica was home alone. She was writing a letter to Severus when she smelt smoke. The house was on fire. She tried using magic to put it out, but it only made it worse. She rushed out into the forest and watched as it burned. _

_Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and then there was a pinch on her neck. She tried to scream but no sound came out._

"_You idiot…he wants her alive," someone said. The pinching on her neck lessened._

"_What are we going to do? He'll lock us up…death."_

_Erica was starting to black out from the blood loss. She knew she wasn't going to survive this night._

"_I love you, Severus," she said before closing her eyes and welcoming the darkness. Her captors were making her drink something warm and liquidly. When it hit her stomach she felt the instant response to throw up. She felt like that until she felt her life slip away from her._

_She woke up in the dark room she was in now. She was hungry and could smell the strong scent of blood from somewhere in the room. It was making her mouth water._

"_Hungry little one. I brought you something to eat," the figure said again. A young Muggle girl was thrown in next to her. She was cut on the neck. She had to be about six or seven. She looked frightened. _

_Erica stared at the young girl. The smell of her blood was making her so hungry. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and she grabbed the young girl and began licking the blood off her neck. It was delicious. _

_Erica felt the urge to bit the girl's neck to get the rest of the blood underneath her skin. She felt a slight change in her mouth. She reached out with her tongue and ran it along two sharp fangs that had grown instantly. Erica gasped and jumped away from the girl._

"_Not too hungry are you?" the cold figure said. "Go on and kill her. Otherwise the blood won't be fresh and you won't be able to keep your strength up."_

_Erica just stared at the girl. Erica backed up as far as she could until she felt a shock. She looked at the ground and noticed a bright light on it._

"_Like it? It is my own design. You can't leave the square unless you get my wand to pass the line. It is quite genius I must say." Erica stood as best she could and started looking into the darkness hard._

"_Looking for me?" the figure said walking into the light. Erica gasped. It was Lucius Malfoy. _

"_I thought that since you were so powerful that you would be perfect to present to the Dark Lord as a servant. I think you would make a great assassin that is if you can figure out how to kill a little girl._

_Lucius pointed his wand at the little girl. "Avada Kedavra," he said in a clear voice. A bright green light speed past Erica and hit the young girl, killing her instantly. _

_Erica turned back to Lucius. "You monster," she said. He laughed before tossing a mirror into the square that Erica was stuck in. It broke into several pieces, but a majority remained._

"_I think that you are the monster dear girl. Look into the mirror and tell me what you see."_

_Erica walked over to the largest piece of mirror and picked it up gently. She looked, expecting to see her reflection, but instead saw nothing._

"_What the hell kind of joke is this Malfoy?" she shouted throwing the piece of glass at the nearest wall._

_Malfoy laughed._

"_No joke dear girl, just a reminder of what you are. Remember the vampires in the woods…that pinch on your neck?"_

_Erica gulped when she realized what Lucius was getting at._

"_No, they didn't…"she said falling to the floor._

"_Oh, but they did. They thought that you were just another girl from the village and that they could kill you. When they realized who you were they had no choice. They made you into the one thing that you dear Severus can't stand…a vampire."_

_At Snape's name Erica's eyes filled with tears and she felt them fall down her face. There was no way she could explain this to him. He would kill her on the spot._

"_That's right dear girl, you've lost everything dear to you. Your parents will never accept you, your friends you had in school won't like you, and Severus, who I know you care for so very deeply, will kill you. The only person who wants you is me. Work for me, or remain in that box for the rest of your days."_

_Lucius walked back into the darkness leaving Erica with the dead girl, who was still bleeding a little._

"_By the way," Lucius said. Erica looked up trying to fight back the tears, "I'm sure if you want I could arrange for Severus to come here if you decide that the box life is more your style. I think I would enjoy watching him kill you, no matter how much he cares."_

_Erica heard a door open and close. It was then she realized that she was alone with a young girl, who was now only good for food. She let out all here tears then._

"_I'm so sorry Severus," she said through the tears.

* * *

_

"Severus, wake up," someone was yelling. Snape opened his eyes to see Poppy leaning over him with fear in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked concerned.

"How's Erica?" he asked. Poppy didn't say anything, but looked up at Dumbledore, who had walked over to the group.

"Good to see you awake," he said with his usual twinkle. Snape sat up, despite complaints from his body and Poppy.

"What happened to Erica?" he demanded. It was then he noticed that the room was empty except for the three of them.

"Where's Erica?"

"She fine Severus," Dumbledore said. "What did you see?"

Snape brought a hand to his head before responding. "I saw Erica when she discovered she was a vampire. It was a mistake. She was upset and confused. Lucius did it to her. He hired vampires to bring her to him. He wanted to present her to the Dark Lord as a present. It was all confusing."

"It is about to become even more confusing," Dumbledore said plainly. Snape looked up into the man's blue eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"The prophecy. The one about Harry mentioned help from the world of the dead. I didn't think much of it at that point when I saw it, but I knew that it had to mean something. I figured it meant a spell or something, but now I think it means Erica."

Snape stared at Dumbledore. "You know what the prophecy says?"

Dumbledore nodded. "And you haven't informed Potter?" Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, if I were to tell Harry about the prophecy, other than what he already knows, then it could change. Harry could die, we all could."

"What is the role Erica plays? Will she…die?"

Dumbledore shrugged. "I don't know. It simply said that the dead would aid the Boy-Who-Lived. It wasn't very specific on how."

Snape nodded. "Where is she now?"

"In the Great Hall with Remus. They are taking over the lesson. Before you get angry with me, it was her idea. She figured you needed your rest after some sort of singing incident. I don't know what she meant by that."

Snape was livid. He stormed down to his private lab and started making some Pepper-Up potion Poppy had asked him to make. He didn't make an appearance at dinner and Erica was the first to notice. She was sitting between Lupin and Dumbledore.

"Remus, do you know where Professor Snape is?"

Lupin laughed and Erica stared at him in confusion. "I'm sorry Erica," he said. "It's just that you have always called him by his first or last name, but never so formally.

"I think that he is still down in the dungeons working on some potions for Poppy," Dumbledore said. Erica turned to him and smiled. "Thank you Headmaster, I think I will go down there and check on him. Maybe he will let me help. Besides…I don't think I can eat this, no offence."

Dumbledore nodded and let her leave. Erica walked out of the Great Hall and turned towards the dungeons. She was halfway there when she heard Lupin yelling for her to stop.

"Erica," he said when he reached her, "I was wondering if you would join me for a walk on the grounds tonight. I'll understand if you don't want to…"

"It's okay. I will have to think about it, I mean you being a werewolf and all," she said with a smile. Lupin smiled back.

"Don't worry, I think I can restrain myself," he said jokingly.

"I'll go on a walk with you Lupin, but he has to be a short one. Pick me up at Severus' quarters later, around ten or something."

Lupin smiled and nodded. Erica turned and started heading into the dungeons. Lupin was rushing off in the opposite direction, absolutely excited about the walk he was going on with Erica. He had always loved her and now he was getting another chance, and this time there was nothing Snape could do to get in the middle of it.

Erica reached Snape's quarters easily. She knocked and waited. Within seconds the door was ripped open and a very angry Snape was standing in front of her. Erica was feeling a little intimidated, but she didn't show it.

"Missed you at dinner," she said. Snape leaned against the doorframe and stared at her.

"What?" she asked narrowing her eyes. Snape just continued to stare at her. They were silent for several moments before either spoke.

"How long were you under house arrest?" Snape said. Erica looked at Snape like he was nuts. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"When Lucius had you, after you became a vampire?"

Erica took a sharp intake of breath. She remembered that now. It was a memory she would choose to forget.

"What does it matter? Now are you going to let me in?"

"No, not until you answer my questions," Snape said angrily. Erica growled at him.

"Long enough to know my worth in this world, no move. I want to relax before Lupin comes."

"Lupin is coming? Why?" Snape said quickly. Erica wanted to get into the room, but couldn't without pushing past Snape.

"He asked me to go for a walk with him and I agreed. What does it matter anyway? I'm single, he's single, and I…"

"You don't care?" Snape finished.

"At least I don't have to worry about him killing me at the first chance," she said. Snape glared at her.

"I haven't tried to kill you since I discovered who you were," he said. Erica wanted to say otherwise, but he was right. He had actually helped her, but he wanted to kill her.

"You want me dead. What does it matter to you who I go for a walk with? He is my friend and nothing more. I have only loved one person and he wants me dead, so I think I will explore other options."

"Like werewolves?"

"At least he would understand what I'm going through, please move," Erica said. Snape stared at her for a few seconds before stepping aside and letting her into the room.

"Thank you," she said before heading to her room.

"Be back before midnight if you want to work on that potion that could make you human, otherwise don't bother coming back at all," Snape said before retreating back into his private lab. He slammed the door and turned back to his potions. He was angry, and jealous.

_Even after all these years she can still wind me up. _

Erica went into her room and laid down on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling and thought about what she had said to Snape.

_He probably didn't even catch that I was talking about him. He will never trust me like he used to, and all because of that asshole, Lucius. I swear that before this war is over, I will kill him._

Lupin showed up at exactly ten and Erica answered the door. They left without a word to Snape and headed out into the gardens.

"Lovely night," Lupin said. Erica nodded. "You know what it reminds me of?" Erica looked at Lupin and shook her head.

"This," he said. Lupin leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It was a nice kiss, but Erica felt nothing behind it. Lupin held her close and kissed her harder. He wanted her to loosen up, but she wasn't. He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said stepping away from her. "It's just…"

"I know," Erica said quietly, "and I'm sorry too, but I…"

"You still love Snape?" Erica nodded.

"I thought that it would go away with time, but it only got worse. Every day got worse, and now seeing him again, and him being mean to me because I've changed hurts so much, even worse than the time I was shot."

"You were shot?" Lupin asked. Erica looked up at her old friend and laughed.

"Leave it to you to concentrate on the most insignificant detail of the story," she said. Lupin smiled. "At least you are laughing," he said.

Erica nodded. "Yeah, thank you for being my friend. At least you understand, kind of, what I'm going through."

The two walked together in silence for a bit before they started talking about their school days and their old friends. It was about midnight when Erica made it back to Snape's quarters. She opened the door and snuck in quietly.

"I was about to wonder if you were even going to show up again," Snape said directly behind her. Erica jumped and turned.

"Don't do that!" she almost screamed at him. "Next time I may kill you."

Snape glared at her. "Follow me," he said. Erica shrugged off her cloak and followed.

They entered his private lab. "I have thought of some ingredients we may use to make the potion," he said. Erica nodded and sat on a stood near the table.

"Well, let's get started. I'm not getting any older," she said with a smile. Snape glared at her as they started working.

The hours passed quickly and the next thing they knew it was five in the morning.

"We should get at least a couple hours sleep," Snape said. Erica nodded the best she could. She slide off the stool and almost hit the ground, but Snape was close enough to catch her.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Erica leaned back against him and rested her head on his chest.

"I'm fine," she said. Snape sighed. He wrapped his arms under her knees and the other across her back.

"Where are we going?" Erica said with a yawn.

"To bed," Snape said simply. Erica snuggled up closer to him. "Okay," she said, "but no funny business. I'm tired."

Snape gave her a small smile. "I wouldn't dream about trying anything funny," he said. Erica gave him a gently punch on the stomach. "Yeah right," she said.

Snape reached his bedroom and placed Erica on his bed before climbing in next to her.

"I still have my daggers," she said quietly. Snape sighed and reached for her thighs. He had seen them earlier.

The dagger was on the outside of her thighs, but the hooks holding the sheath on were on the inside of her thighs. He reached down and started undoing the hooks. Every time his fingers grazed her skin, she would giggle.

Finally he got them both off. He placed the daggers on a small side table by the bed next to his wand.

He turned back to Erica, who was watching him with sleepy eyes. "Good night Severus," she said snuggling into his arms. Snape wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest before closing his eyes.

"Good night Erica."


	6. Day two: Reopening Wounds

Erica had wonderful dreams that night. She didn't remember them, but she awoke well refreshed and happy.

She started to move to get out of bed when she realized that there were extra limbs on her body and a distinct smell of spices. She kept her eyes closed and breathed deeply. It was heavenly.

The arms around her tightened and then she opened her eyes. She was face to face with Snape. He was holding her in his bed.

Erica smiled slightly before attempting to move again. Her movement woke Snape up. His dark eyes slammed open and connected with her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she said quietly. Snape groaned. "It's okay, I should have been up an hour ago."

Erica turned and looked at the clock. It was almost ten. They had slept for five hours. She turned back to Snape, who was watching her. "What?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking," Snape answered.

"What about?"

"The Halloween dance," Snape answered truthfully. Erica's eyes went wide with remembrance.

"Oh," she said before rolling away from Snape and standing up. "We should get ready, I believe that we have to teach sixth and seventh years how to fight hand-to-hand and then we have to work on the potion again."

Snape nodded before standing as well. Both of their clothes were disheveled from sleeping in them.

"You can take a shower first," Snape said making the bed. Erica nodded and went to her room. The sunlight was on one side of the room, unfortunately that was the side of the room Erica needed to get to.

"Professor?" she yelled. Snape walked in and looked at her. She was taken aback at how he looked. His vest was removed, leaving him in a white shirt and black trousers. The first two buttons were undone showing off a little of his well-chiseled chest from all the potion work he had done.

"What is it?" Erica was knocked out of her trance at the sound of his voice and looked at him in the eyes. "I…I can't get my clothes," she said pitifully. Snape looked over to the clothes folded on the side table in the full sunlight.

He didn't say anything. He walked over, picked up her clothes, and walked back.

"I apologize. The house elves obviously weren't thinking when placing your clothes there," he said before walking out of the room and back down the hall to his room.

Erica crossed the hall and entered into the bathroom. She shut the door and started to disrobe. Her thoughts weren't on her actions through they were on Snape.

_It is strange. Back in school he would never apologize for anything, and now he is almost always apologizing for things he has no control over. He's not the same man anymore, but yet he is. Time heals all wounds they say. How much longer will it be until our wounds heal?_

Snape was making the bed quietly when he heard the water start up in the bathroom. He finished quickly and walked into the sitting room. He poured himself a glass of fire whiskey and sat in his armchair. He stared into the fire and thought back to the night when life went to hell, the Halloween dance.

Erica smiled as she stepped out of the shower and put on her own clothes. It was nice wearing something so beautiful, but it wasn't what she would usually wear. It was nice to be back in her own clothes.

She walked out of the bathroom with the dress in her hand. She didn't know what to do with it so she carried it into the sitting room. Snape was sitting in the armchair with his eyes closed. Erica smiled then frowned. Something about this situation was familiar.

She placed the dress on the couch and walked up to Snape. She looked at him with curious eyes. Her stomach growled loudly then. She gasped and looked back up at Snape. She was hungry and she needed blood. She could hear his heart beating in his chest and could almost feel the blood pumping throughout his body. He looked delicious right then. Erica shook her head at the thought. There was no way she was going to drink human blood, and especially not Snape's blood. _Not if my life depended on it._

His eyebrows were creased like he was having a bad dream. She reached out to touch wake him up when she remembered every time they touch each other when one is asleep.

She started to take a step back, but her boot caught a crease in the carpet causing her to fall forward, right onto Snape. Her cheek grazed his and she felt the familiar shock before slipping into the darkness.

* * *

_Snape was standing off to the side at the Halloween dance. He had gone alone. He was drinking some punch and appeared to be thinking. The doors to the Great Hall opened and he looked up. His eyes went wide._

_It was Erica and Lupin walking in together arm-in-arm. She was smiling and he was beaming. He had never looked so happy it made Snape sick. Like the rest of the guys, Lupin was dressed in black slacks and a dark shirt with a cloak in their house colors. The girls had a little more leeway. He turned his gaze to Erica and his jaw dropped._

_She looked beautiful, even in Gryffindor colors. She was wearing a crimson dress with a gold design on it. Her hair was up in ringlets with gold streamers and red flowers in it. It was low in the back and in the front. The dress went down to just below her knees and she was wearing heels._

_Snape was in shock. He knew for a fact that she never wore heels. They had had a conversation about it before their argument._

_Remembering the disagreement, Snape instantly felt angry, but there was no one to blame but himself._

"_Hello Severus," someone said. Snape turned to see Lucius standing beside him with Narcissa on his arm. Snape nodded before looking back out at the couples dancing. He saw Erica and Lupin dancing and laughing. Lucius caught his gaze at the couple._

"_A little jealous Severus? Don't worry, I'll fix that."_

_Before Snape could register what had happened, Lucius and several other Slytherins were over at Lupin and Erica. He couldn't hear what they were saying so he started to move closer._

"_Hey there Lupin, do you mind if my friend cuts in? He would love to dance with such a delicious creature," Lucius said looking at Erica's chest with hungry eyes. Erica moved behind Lupin to hide herself from his eyes._

"_Lucius just leave us alone," Lupin said. Lucius looked at Lupin before lifting his fist and knocking him to the ground. Lucius stepped forward and grabbed Erica's arm tightly._

"_You know, I was coming over here because Severus was moping around, but now I think I'll keep you for myself."_

"_Let her go Lucius," Snape said. Lucius turned and looked at him and smirked. _

"_What do you want Severus? I thought you were sulking over by the punch bowl. How about you go back over there and let me have some fun?" Lucius said turning back to Erica. Snape took a step forward and placed himself between Lucius and Erica._

"_Just leave them alone Lucius. It isn't worth it." _

_Lucius glared at Snape before whipping around and grabbing Narcissa's arm and disappearing in the crowd. Snape turned to Lupin and offered him his hand. _

_Lupin stared up at Snape with confusion in his eyes before taking it. Snape pulled Lupin back up and turned to Erica._

"_I hope we are still friends?" Snape asked quietly. Erica nodded and watched as Snape walked back to the punch bowl. Lupin placed a hand on her shoulder. _

"_That was weird." Erica nodded._

"_Yeah, it was. Maybe I should ask him to dance?"_

_Lupin laughed. "He would never dance. He is just in a bad mood because he realized that the best man won." Erica took a step away from him._

"_I am not a prize to be won Remus. Remember that."_

_Erica turned and walked out of the dance and went back to her room. Snape just stood there at the punch bowl and watched her go. He looked back over at Lupin who was glaring daggers at him. What had just happened?

* * *

_

Snape's eyes opened with a jolt. He instantly noticed the additional weight on him and saw that Erica was lying on top of him. He could smell the shampoo she used earlier. It smelled like apples. He took a deep breath and enjoyed the smell of it, the smell of her.

Erica stirred before waking up. She felt something soft and warm beneath her. Suddenly she remembered that she had fallen on Snape and instantly stood up, her cheeks red with embarrassment. Snape stood and looked at her. She was wearing the same clothes she was the first day, and it was making him warmer than he was before. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Are you alright? What did you see?"

Erica looked up into his black eyes and sighed. "I saw the dance, when you helped out Remus and me. I don't think he ever properly thanked you."

"No, he tried to kill me instead, remember?"

Erica gasped. She remembered when James and Sirus thought it would be funny to send Snape over the Shrieking Shack to meet with a transformed Lupin. Luckily she convinced James and Sirus to rush over there and stop him before Lupin killed him.

"I remember," she said. Snape sighed and walked out of the sitting room to take a shower. Erica fell onto the couch and sighed. She was getting hungry and had since she refused to kill anyone she went about the rooms searching. In his private labs she noticed a small cage filled with rats. _Rat tails and rat eyes are important ingredients in most potions…and also have a ton of blood in their bodies just waiting to be drained._

Erica reached into the cage and pulled out a fairly large rat. She listened and still heard the shower running. She sighed and then allowed her teeth to sink into the squeaking animal. It was dead in seconds as she drank all the blood from his body. She was filling up fast. One rat was enough to fill her for most of the day. She would need to drink again later that night.

She stood up and wiped her mouth clean. She held the dead rat in her hands and turned to go back into the sitting room and toss the rat into the fire. She turned around back to the door and came face to face with Snape.

He was staring at her with surprise in his eyes. "Hungry?" he asked. Erica gulped and nodded.

"How long were you standing there?" she asked.

"Long enough to be reminded of what you have become. You aren't the same girl you were then, you're a monster." Snape turned and went back to his bedroom. Erica just stood there with a dead rat in her hand and tears filling her eyes.

"Lucius was right. I am a monster. I shouldn't even be here," Erica said to herself. She dropped the rat and went to the bathroom to wash her hands.

The blood ran off her hands and down the drain. When all the blood was gone from her hands Erica turned the water off and looked up at the mirror in front of her. She saw nothing in it. Her lack of a reflection was just another reminder of what she had become, and of what she had lost.

A knock on the door to his quarters forced Snape to come out of his bedroom. He had been sitting in there thinking about Erica and how he had almost forgotten what she was. Even if it was a mistake, there was no way she could change what she had become.

Snape walked into the sitting room and looked around. Erica wasn't in there. _Strange._

Snape opened the door to reveal Dumbledore and Lupin. Both of them were standing there with sad expressions on their faces.

"What is going on here?" Snape asked as the two men entered his quarters. Lupin instantly began searching the quarters while Dumbledore turned to Snape.

"What the hell is going on here Albus?"

"Severus, do you know where Erica is?" Dumbledore asked. Snape glared at him.

"I am not the girl's father, but I am sure she is around here somewhere."

Lupin entered the room with a distraught expression on his face. He looked up at the Headmaster and shook his head.

"I was afraid of this," Dumbledore said turning from Lupin to Snape. "She's left Hogwarts."

"What!" Snape said rushing out of the room. He searched every room in his quarters before returning to the sitting room. Dumbledore and Lupin were both sitting on the couch.

"Why would she leave?" Snape said falling into an armchair.

"Did you two have an argument or something?" Dumbledore asked calmly. Snape looked at the Headmaster before nodding his head. Lupin jumped up in a flash.

"What did you say to her?" Lupin growled. Snape stood and faced Lupin with his classroom glare.

"It is none of your business what I said to Miss Kartake."

"Her name isn't Kartake anymore. It is just Erica now. Weren't you listening to her story earlier? Her family disowned her…"

"I was listening," Snape said interrupting Lupin. Lupin grabbed his wand and pointed it at Snape.

"If you have done anything to hurt the woman that I love I swear I'll kill you," Lupin said in a deadly voice.

Snape didn't move. He was getting angry and it wasn't just at Lupin. He was getting angry with himself.

"I didn't say anything to Erica that wasn't true Lupin. She and I both know that I wouldn't do anything but speak to her truthfully."

"Bullshit," Lupin shouted. "You don't care for her at all, so why should you tell her the truth."

"Don't you dare say I don't care for her," Snape yelled.

"You could care less if she died."

"She is dead, technically."

"Did you cry when the papers said she was dead? I bet you just sat in your room and laughed about the whole damn thing."

"I did care when I heard she died. I did cry. I thought I had lost the only person I ever lo…" Snape stopped and slumped back into his armchair.

Lupin lowered his wand and stared at Snape with wide eyes. It wasn't like Snape to reveal a weakness like love, but he had done it just now.

"You love her?" Lupin asked quietly. Snape didn't look at Lupin.

"This isn't important right now," Dumbledore said standing. Lupin and Snape turned to him. "We have to find Erica now. The sun is up, so she couldn't have gotten very far."

"I'll go talk to Harry. He may have something that could help us," Lupin said leaving the room. Dumbledore turned to Snape.

"Severus, do you have any idea where she might have gone?" Snape shook his head. He heard the door to his rooms open and shut behind Dumbledore. Snape stared at the fire, his mind wandering to Erica. He stood and walked into the bathroom. He removed his shirt and unbuttoned his pants.

"Please keep your pants on," a voice said. Snape jumped and held onto his pants. He started looking all around the room, but he couldn't see anyone.

"Who's there?"

"Erica," she said. "Look up."

Snape looked up and nearly had a heart attack. Erica was sitting on the ceiling looking down at Snape. "What the hell are you doing up there?"

Erica stood up till her face was right above his. "Just thinking," she said casually. Snape watched as she walked over to the edge of the ceiling and stepped onto the wall. She walked down the wall and hopped onto the floor, landing directly in front of Snape.

"Looking for me?" she asked.

"Dumbledore and Lupin were worried about you," he said calmly. Erica stared at him. "What about you?"

Snape glanced at her through his hair. "Perhaps," he said, "now could you please leave me so I can take a shower?"

Erica's eyes widened and nodded. She walked out of the bathroom and sat down in the sitting room. She stared into the fire and thought about what she had heard earlier while sitting on the ceiling in the bathroom.

* * *

"_Bullshit. You don't care for her at all, so why should you tell her the truth."_

"_Don't you dare say I don't care for her."_

"_You could care less if she died."_

"_She is dead, technically."_

"_Did you cry when the papers said she was dead? I bet you just sat in your room and laughed about the whole damn thing."_

"_I did care when I heard she died. I did cry. I thought I had lost the only person I ever lo…"

* * *

_

Erica was in shock when she heard that. Never before had she heard such an argument between her two friends. Sure when they were in school they had fought, but never where she could hear them.

Snape stood under the water and let it beat down on his skin. It was disturbing the things she could do, but it also explained how she could find out about the Dark Lord's plan undetected.

He was also hoping she didn't hear the conversation between him and Lupin earlier. He couldn't believe what he had almost said. He loved Erica? It was a ridiculous thought. How could he love a vampire?

He shook his head at the thought. It would never work out anyway. Snape finished his shower and dressed quickly. He stepped out into the sitting room, causing Erica to turn towards him.

"Let's go," Snape said walking towards the door. Erica stood and followed him out the door.


	7. Day two: Fatal Attraction

**WARNING! This chapter contains a lemon. If you can't handle it or just don't want to read it...well just skip over it. I apologize if it isn't well written as I have no experience in that area... and I hope it doesn't offend anyone. Enjoy this chapter of Forget about Love. **

They walked in silence throughout the castle, taking the darker passageways to avoid the sunlight. They stopped in front of Dumbledore's office.

"Chocolate covered bananas," Snape said in a clear voice. The phoenix statue moved to reveal a set of stairs moving up. Snape pushed Erica onto the stairs before standing behind her. They rode the stairs up to a large door.

Snape leaned forward, pressing his body up against Erica's back, and knocked on the door. "Enter," Dumbledore said in a clear voice.

Snape reached down until Erica could feel his breath on her ear, and opened the door. He pushed her gently into the room before entering himself and shutting the door.

Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk looking like he was deep in thought.

"Severus, what can I…Oh, Erica there you are," Dumbledore said looking up. Erica smiled as she stood against the wall, as far from the sunlight streaming in through the high windows as possible.

Snape glared at her before leaning against the wall across from her, crossing his hands across his chest, and looking at Dumbledore.

"I understand that you went missing earlier," Dumbledore said with that twinkle in his eyes. Erica shook her head.

"No Headmaster. Remus and Severus must have forgotten some of the things they learned in school, because they forgot to search the ceilings." Dumbledore nodded before turning to Snape.

"Lupin is taking over the hand-to-hand combat with a fifth year Hufflepuff student as his assistant. He said that he would rather search for Erica, but seeing as that isn't necessary, he can take over for the two of you."

"Why?" Erica asked standing straight. Dumbledore smiled slightly.

"We need some potions made for after the battle. Pepper-up potions, anti-burn potions, and so on. Poppy has a list made up for you of what she thinks she may need. Severus will see to her after returning you to his quarters. It will also give you some time to work on that potion that could restore your humanity Erica."

Erica smiled at the thought of being human again. Snape felt like rolling his eyes, but refrained from such a childish gesture in front of Dumbledore.

They left Dumbledore's office and started toward the dungeons. Erica stopped and looked at Snape. He stopped and turned to her.

"What is it?" he asked impatiently.

"Wouldn't it be faster to just go to see Poppy first and then go down to the dungeons rather than go to the dungeons to drop me off, go up to see Poppy, and then walk back to the dungeons?"

Snape took a couple steps toward her and crossed his arms across his chest.

"It would, but there is the unfortunate problem of the infirmary being in direct sunlight and your…problem with that."

Erica sighed and nodded. "Then you go get the list and I'll meet you at your quarters?"

Snape shook his head before reaching out and grabbing her bare arm. "I don't think so," he said coldly. Erica ripped her arm out of his grip and glared at him.

"What is wrong with that idea? It saves time."

"It also means leaving you alone with several students, any of which could be a meal for you."

"That doesn't mean that I am going to eat them," Erica snapped angrily. Snape sighed and looked around before pulling her into a nearby classroom. Luckily it was empty at the time.

"What the hell are you doing?" she said pulling her arm away from him.

"I don't want everyone in the school knowing about your particular problem. It is already bad enough that the Golden Trio know."

"Golden Trio?"

"Mr. Potter and his two friends, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley."

Erica nodded. "I see," she said in a knowing voice. Snape glared at her. Her voice was just a little too knowing.

"What do you see?" he said coldly. Erica took a few steps into the room and sat on a nearby desk facing Snape.

"Potter, you are still James for what he did to you," she said leaning back on the desk.

Snape was getting angry. He stepped over to her and grabbed her shoulders and pulled her toward him. Their faces were inches from each other's.

"That has nothing to do with Harry," he said viciously. Erica chuckled.

"Yeah right, it has nothing to do with Harry, except that he has James face, hair, and looks. The only difference between them is that Harry has Lily's eyes."

"Harry Potter is a ridiculous little boy with no skill in potions, and anything I have seen him do."

"What about Quidditch, or are you denying his skills there?"

"THAT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS VAMPIRE!" Snape bellowed. Erica gasped.

His words echoed off the walls like a mantra. He saw her as nothing more than a vampire. He pushed her away from him as he walked back to the door and stepped out of the classroom. Erica just sat there on the barely lit classroom.

Snape was angry, and not just at Erica for what she had said, but with himself and the fact that her words were true.

He was blaming Harry for his father's mistakes and cruel jokes against him. He couldn't deny that Harry had earned his father's skills on the Quidditch field, no matter how much he wanted to.

Erica exited the room after a few minutes and they continued down to the dungeons in peace. When they reached Severus' quarters, he mumbled the password before ushering Erica in. She plopped down on the couch and laid down watching the fire flicker.

"I'll be back," Snape said quietly before walking out the door to see Poppy. Erica watched the flames flicker and cackle.

Her stomach was beginning to growl. Despite the blood from earlier, her body wanted more.

"Dobby," she said in loud voice. Instantly the little house elf was by her side.

"What can Dobby do for Miss?" he asked kindly with a wide smile on his face. Erica smiled back.

"I need some more blood. Could you get me some?"

Dobby paled slightly at the thought of blood, but he nodded before disappearing in a pop. Erica went back to watching the fire crackle. She remembered being in Lucius' house when he kidnapped her and the pain he loved to inflict. He loved to mess with her emotions.

Her mind wandered back to the one thing, other than her being a vampire, that she hopped Snape would never find out.

She heard the door open behind her and heard Snape enter. Dobby reappeared a second later carrying a glass of pig's blood for her to drink.

She smiled as she accepted it and sat up. Dobby handed it to her and disappeared as quick as he had come.

"How is Poppy?" Erica asked calmly taking a gulp of her blood. Snape walked around and sat on the couch next to her.

"How should she be? She is worrying about the battle and about what is going to happen next."

Erica nodded as she took another drink of her blood. "Get the list?"

"That is what I went up there for," Snape said standing and heading into his private lab. Erica followed at a distance still carrying her blood.

Snape began setting up several cauldrons before even looking up and noticing the glass in her hand. His eyes narrowed before he turned back to his caldrons and beginning his potions.

"You need any help?" Erica asked finishing off her blood. Snape refused to look up at her.

"Still hungry?" he asked coldly. Erica sighed.

"This is always going to be an issue with us isn't it?" Snape didn't answer. "I thought as much."

Erica walked back into the sitting room and picked up a book from the shelf. She didn't bother to look at the title, just sat down and began reading it. She wasn't going to help if he couldn't stand to look at her and he obviously didn't want any help.

Snape rushed around and made most of the potions on the list Poppy had provided before he realized just how late it was and how hungry her was. He was working on the last potion when Erica walked in carrying a tray of food.

"What's this?" he asked as she turned to leave. She stopped but didn't look at him. "Food. I noticed you didn't eat anything today, so I had the house elves bring you some food to eat while your working," she said without any emotion. Snape looked at the tray.

There was tomato soup with crackers, a small salad with his favorite dressing, Italian, a glass of pumpkin juice, and a small plate with a grilled cheese and ham sandwich on it. Snape looked up to thank Erica, but he noticed that she was already gone.

Erica sat back down on the armchair and picked up the book she had been reading all day. The book was ironically about vampires. It described all the ways to kill a vampire and use the pieces to make different sorts of potions. It kind of gave Erica the creeps knowing that Snape had read this book before.

About thirty minutes later, Snape emerged from his private lab carrying an empty tray and looking a little exhausted. Without looking up from her book, she addressed him.

"Ready to work on my potion?"

Snape flopped onto the couch and sighed. "No, I'm too tired to work right now."

Erica closed the book she had just finished and placed it in her lap. "Is that what all Deatheaters turned spy, extremely rude Potions Masters who teach idiots all day, and hates vampires always say?"

Snape glared at her. Erica was grinning. "I should kill you," Snape said before closing his eyes against her. Erica sighed and looked at the clock over the mantle. It was almost eight in the evening.

"I understand that you are tired, but that is no reason to pose threats," she said before standing and placing the book back on the shelf.

"Who said it was a threat?"

Erica sighed and turned back to Snape, who was relaxing on the couch. "Fine," she said. She reached down and grabbed one of her daggers and pulled it out of its sheath.

"What are you doing silly girl?" Snape said amused. Erica was getting sick and tired of his attitude towards her. She placed the dagger on the small table in front of him and took a few steps back.

"You keep saying you are going to kill me, why not just go ahead and do it already?"

Snape stared at her before sitting up. "What?"

"I am getting sick and tired of your empty threats, so just go ahead and kill me already. I'll give you a clean shot, and I won't fight back," Erica said opening her arms.

Snape stood and picked up the dagger and holding it in his hand. It was lighter than he thought and the edge glimmered from the light of the fire.

"Well Professor, aren't you going to kill me?" Erica said. Snape rushed across the room and held the dagger at her throat. Erica didn't move.

"You know it would be better just to pierce my heart. I would die faster…unless you want me to suffer?"

Snape didn't say anything. He just looked into her eyes with anger and fear in his own. Erica was a little surprised at the fear, but she knew this is what he wanted.

They stood like that for several minutes. Snape had one hand on her arm to keep her from running, the other on the blade at her neck, and his eyes pinned with hers. They were fighting for dominance in this situation.

"Aren't you going to at least beg for your life?" Snape asked at some point. Erica would have shaken her head if it were possible.

"I told you I wouldn't, and I won't."

"What if I want you to fight?"

Erica raised her eyebrow slightly, but not losing eye contact with Snape.

"Are you saying you want me to fight?"

"No," Snape said suddenly causing the other eyebrow to rise, "I want you…"

Snape didn't get any farther. His willpower broke down and he dropped the knife and closed the distance between them and captured her lips in a bruising kiss. Erica was a little surprised at this move. She thought that he would have killed her for sure.

Snape's hands moved to her waist as he started to get forceful. He violently pushed her against the bookcase, causing Erica to gasp and several books to fall off the shelves. He pinned her there using his body and caught her lips in another strong kiss. Erica's hands forced themselves between their bodies and removed his cloak.

It landed on the floor in a puddle. Erica pushed Snape away from her and up against the back of one of the armchairs. She took some control at this point by grabbing his head and pulling him toward her violently. She caught him in another passionate kiss.

Snape's hands moved up her body and grabbed her clothed breasts. He squeezed them with a lot of strength, causing Erica to break the kiss to moan loudly.

Snape grabbed her ass in a swift movement and lifted her against his body, making sure she could feel his erection against her thigh. Erica definably felt it, and it caused her body to heat up to almost unbearable degrees.

Snape tossed her onto the couch before covering her body with his. Erica's fingers expertly were undoing the thousands of buttons Snape had on his vest and then on his shirt. Once finished she almost ripped them off his body. She kicked off her boots and tossed them to the floor.

Snape's hands were intertwined in her hair. Slowly he moved his hands down to her top. He broke the kiss long enough to pull the top over her head and tossed it to the ground. His hands moved to her now bare chest as his lips reclaimed hers. He began to slowly knead her breasts and occasionally rubbing his thumb over her sensitive nipples.

She growled before gently biting his lower lip and then pushing him off her and onto the floor. Before he could say anything she was on top of him straddling his waist and kissing him again. She could feel his excitement right up against her heat and it was driving her crazy.

Her hands moved down his well-chiseled chest and toned abs to the waistband of his pants. She undid the button and slowly unzipped his pants. Snape's hands on her waist holding her in place. After finishing undoing his pants, Erica grabbed his hands and roughly pinned them against the floor by his head while moving her lips to his neck. Snape growled seductively as her lips pressed against his jaw line and slowly down his neck to his collarbone.

She reached his nipples and teased each one before continuing her way down his body to his waistband. She released his hands so hers could help pull his pants down. In a swift move she removed both his pants and his boxers leaving him naked beneath her.

Her hand moved to his erection and grasped it firmly, causing a gasp to come from him. She explored his length with her fingertips while her lips moved against his hips.

Snape growled and grabbed her shoulders roughly, causing her to groan deeply, and pulled her up to his mouth. He kissed her with such passion that Erica's head was beginning to spin. Before she knew it, he had her pinned to the ground with his bare body. Her erect nipples rubbed against his rough chest as his body crushed her between him and the floor. She didn't care.

His hands moved to her pants and quickly removed them. His right hand moved to her inner thigh as his left took her breast in hand. His lips moved from hers to her unoccupied breast. He took her nipple in his mouth as he slipped two fingers into her already wet body.

She gasped and arched into his mouth pushing herself down onto his fingers. Her hands grabbed his shoulders and held tight as her slowly moved his fingers in and out of her body in rhythm with his tongue against her breast. His thumb found her clitoris and slowly began making small circles against it, causing more moans from Erica.

"Please…"she said quietly. Snape lifted his head from her breast and looked her in the eyes and smiled.

"Please what?"

Erica didn't answer. She removed on hand from the death grip on his shoulder and placed it on the more sensitive area of his body, cause Snape to give a sharp intake of breath.

"Please…Severus. Take me," she said again quietly.

Snape removed his fingers before Erica was about to reach her release and replaced it with himself. He looked deep into her eyes before thrusting himself into her roughly. She gasped and clung to him tightly. Her legs wrapped up against his waist as her arms encircled his body pulling herself closer to him.

They began to move in perfect rhythm, almost like they were two halves of the perfect mold. As they got closer to climax, his thrusts increased.

"Oh Gods Severus," Erica said closing her eyes.

"Open your eyes," Snape demanded. She did and connected with his black orbs as she felt her body reach its release followed slowly by his.

He fell onto her careful not to squish her. His head rested against her chest and her legs still wrapped around his waist. Her began to slowly rub her fingers through his hair. He fell asleep in her arms. She summoned a blanket and a pillow from the couch and covered their bodies and placed a pillow under her head before drifting off to sleep in Snape's arms.


	8. Day three: The calm before

**This chapter may seem a little rushed and a little confusing. Any questions can be placed in reviews and I will try to anwser them in the next chapter. Sorry if really confusing. Talk to ya later and enjoy the chapter.**

Erica woke up the next morning on the soft couch. Her clothes were sitting on the small table in front of her next to her daggers. She sat up holding the blanket close to her, as she was still naked.

Images from the night before flashed before her face. A small smile crept across her features. _That was the most amazing night on my life. I never thought I would ever be with Severus like that. _

"Good morning," Snape said knocking Erica out of her thoughts. She looked up to the front door with surprise. He had startled her.

"Good morning," Erica said. Snape was fully dressed in his typical black attire.

Snape walked across the room and entered his private lab without another word. He shut the door behind him and warded it against her. He needed to work and without interruption.

Snape sat on a stool and began preparing ingredients. His mind wasn't on the chopping as much as it was the events of last night.

He had shown weakness. He had shown passion he never even knew he had. It was amazing…but still a mistake. When the war was over and Erica played her little bit in assisting Potter, he was going to kill her.

_I can't allow a vampire to just walk away like that. It goes against everything I have ever believed, everything I have ever known, and my mother…I won't think about that._

Erica dressed quickly into the clothes from the day before. She attached her daggers to her thighs and her sword to her back. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. She looked back at the closed door to the private lab.

Erica sighed and felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She understood now, he regretted last night. Erica closed her eyes against the tears and took a deep breath. It was inevitable. She knew that it was when she came to see Dumbledore and knew that Severus was with him. She knew her feelings would be hurt, her heart broken again.

_And still I came…what was I thinking?_

"Severus!" someone yelled at the front door while banging on it. Erica looked up at the door in surprise. Snape exited from the private lab and rushed over to the door. He opened it quickly.

"Damn Lupin what do you want?" Snape said angrily. Lupin walked into the room and told Snape to shut the door. When the door was properly shut, warded, and had a silencing charm put up did Lupin speak again.

"The Order requests that you stay out of the fight Erica," Lupin said. Erica's eyes narrowed and Snape raised his eyebrow.

"We think that it would be better for you to remain out of the fight. It is too dangerous for you to be involved in the battle. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you, now would we?"

"That depends…by 'we' do you mean you?" Erica asked placing her right hand on her hip. Lupin's eyes widened slightly, but he shook his head.

"No, this order came directly from Dumbledore himself. You are to stay in my quarters until…"

"Why?" Erica said. Snape raised his eyebrow at this little display.

"We just think that it would be safer for you to stay away from the battle. Besides I don't want you to get hurt."

"Now we are getting somewhere. Get it through you thick skull, I am your friend, nothing more. If Dumbledore really issued this order, then I want to hear him say it for himself."

Erica walked around the couch and started for the door. Lupin turned quickly and grabbed her arm.

"No, the Headmaster doesn't want to be interrupted," Lupin said in a desperate voice. Erica turned to him and grabbed him by the throat.

"What the hell are you trying to pull Remus? Didn't we talk about this the other night?"

Lupin nodded slightly. Erica nodded as well. "That's what I thought. Now what is the real reason you don't want me to fight? Say it so that Severus can hear you," Erica said releasing him.

Lupin fell to the floor gasping. "I…don't want…you to…fight, because…because I…I love you."

Erica nodded and knelt down to the floor by Lupin. "I understand that you care a great deal for me, and I love you too, but as one of my dearest friends. I want you to understand that. I have to fight; there is someone who has to pay for their sins against me. It is a personal issue, so don't ask, but I have to fight. Do you understand?"

Lupin nodded and Erica stood and offered her hand to help him up. Lupin allowed her help and stood. He looked into her eyes and smiled slightly.

"You've changed Erica, and not just because you became a vampire. You're different now."

Erica nodded. "We all change over time. It was just forced upon me."

Lupin pulled Erica into a hug before turning to Snape. "Sorry about this intrusion. I'll see you all later."

Lupin let himself out. Snape stood there staring at Erica with questioning eyes. Erica sighed and walked back to the other side of the couch and began to pull on her boots.

"Who has to pay?" Snape asked. Erica paused in her actions and her eyes widened. "And for what reason?"

The memories of pain and suffering flooded back into her mind. She closed her eyes against the pain before responding.

"As I told Lupin, it's personal. Neither you nor he needs to be involved in my personal battles."

Snape stalked over to the couch and stood in front of her. She ignored him as she laced up her boot quickly. As soon as she finished, Snape grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up against him and stared down at her with piercing black eyes.

"Who has to pay Erica?"

Erica looked at him defiantly. "What do you want so badly? Worried that it's you?"

Snape's eyes widened slightly as Erica looked at him angrily. "I told you it was none of your business Professor, so please release me."

"Back to pleasantries Erica? I don't have that luxury, so you will address me as you always have."

"What the fuck is your problem anyway? This is my problem to solve and I will solve it my way…with that bastard's death."

"Who is it Erica?" Snape said again shaking her violently.

In a flash Erica grabbed one of her daggers and had it at Snape's crotch. He just glared at her.

"It is none of your business Severus, now release me. I would hate it if I had to take your manhood as it is an impressive piece of equipment."

Snape released her gently, but didn't move away from her.

"Why won't you tell me Erica?" Snape asked kindly. Erica just glared daggers at him for several minutes before replacing the dagger and moving away from him.

"It is not for you to know. It is my problem and I will solve it my way. With one of our deaths."

"You are willing to die for this cause?"

Erica turned to Snape. For a brief second he saw pain in her eyes, but just as soon as it was there it was gone, replaced with anger and violence.

"Yes," she said before grabbing her cloak and walking out of the room. Snape just stood there confused and frustrated.

Erica walked to Room of Requirement using the cloak to keep the sun off her body, and entered quickly. It was empty of students. There was a punching bag hanging up on the other side of the room. She removed her cloak and threw it on the floor.

She crossed the room and began punching the bag with extreme force. She was angry at everything.

She was mad at Lupin for trying to keep her out of the fight, mad at Lucius who put her in this situation, and she was mad at Severus for prying and for acting like last night meant nothing to him.

Tears were filling her eyes as she thought about the past, about her and Severus, about the conversation they had had about his mother.

* * *

"_What an interesting class today. I didn't think there were so many misconceptions about vampires," Erica said slinging her book bag over her shoulder. Snape was nodding, but he looked upset._

"_Severus, what's wrong?" Erica said touching his arm kindly. Snape turned and looked at her with sadness in his eyes._

"_My mother…was killed by vampires," he said quietly. Erica's eyes widened as she gasped._

"_Oh, Severus. I'm sorry." Snape raised his hand. "It's okay. You didn't know."_

_Snape sighed. "She was outside working in the garden during the evening. She was picking some tomatoes for dinner that night. Our gardener was sick so Mom volunteered to go out and do it. My father wasn't really there. It was really just Mom and me. They found her outside and killed her. I was in the house at the time and saw the whole thing." _

_Snape's hands closed into fists and he tensed up. "I wanted to help her, but my father held me back. He said that is was something that needed to be done. I was only seven at the time and didn't understand what he meant. Mom was kind to me and she loved me. It wasn't until a year later that I understood why Mom had died. My father hired some vampires to kill her because he wanted to marry his mistress. Valerie is nothing like my mother. She treats me like I'm a burden. Sometimes I wish that my father had just let me go and I had died too."_

_Erica pulled Snape into a hug right there in the hall. She didn't care who saw, she needed to hug him right then. She was sad for him, but she didn't pity him. She knew how Snape hated pity. She was so sad that he wanted to die. _

"_I'm glad that you didn't die, and I'm sure your mother is glad that you are still alive, and that you still remember her," Erica whispered in his ear. He relaxed and returned her embrace. It was a shock to see a Gryffindor and a Slytherin hugging in the hallways, but Erica and Severus didn't care.

* * *

_

Erica fell to the ground exhausted, physically and mentally. A few hours had passed and she was sure that Voldemort's armies were getting closer.

She placed her cloak back on and headed for the Great Hall. Everyone was gathered in there. Erica instantly found Harry and could sense her nervousness. She approached him cautiously.

"Harry?" she said when she was nearer to him. Harry turned to her and sighed. "I'm worried," he said.

Erica smiled and sat next to him at the table. "Do you want to hear about your father and mother Harry? I know lots of stories."

Harry's eyes instantly filled with slight joy. He smiled slightly and nodded. Erica started telling stories to Harry about his father's crazy school days.

Snape was down in the dungeons. He had done nothing for the few hours Erica had been gone except think. He thought about the night before and old school days, but most of all he thought about how she had changed and who was this mysterious "business" she had to attend to during the battle. Who was it she had to kill?

Snape sighed and took another sip of fire whiskey. He decided that one glass would be fine for this occasion. He was sitting in one of the green armchairs listening the fire crackle. He lifted his sleeve on his left arm and looked at the Dark Mark marring his skin. He sighed again. _Even with his defeat, I will still have this reminder of my mistakes. _

Snape shook his head and closed his eyes. He remembered why he took the Dark Mark, and why he was here now, waiting at the edge of a battle he can't escape. It was all because of her, of Erica.

* * *

_Snape sat in the booth at the small ice cream shop in Diagon Alley. He was drinking a glass of butterbeer looking from the glass to the door. Patience was never something Snape was good at, but he was being patient for her. _

_Erica had become one of his best friends and he loved her more than anything. He couldn't live without her. His hand slipped into his pocket, where it found the small box with a ring that had been passed down through the generations of his family. He was going to ask her to marry him._

_He knew she would say yes. He just couldn't wait to see the look on her face. The way her eyes would glow with happiness and tears would stream down her face. Her smile would be so bright and cheerful. He would take her in his arms and kiss her for the first time. He loved her and he knew she loved him. They belonged together. _

_But the minutes drifted into hours and before Snape knew it they were asking him to leave. They were closing. _

_Snape paid his tab and walked out onto the quiet street of Diagon Alley. He started walking to the apparition point. Soon a second set of footsteps was next to him. He looked up and noticed Lucius Malfoy walking next to him._

"_What do you want Lucius?" Snape said in a cold voice. Lucius smiled and looked at Snape._

"_I've done it," he said proudly. There was no need to explain, Snape understood. Lucius had joined the Deatheaters. _

"_Are you going to join?" Lucius asked hopefully. Snape felt the box in his pocket and felt the pain in his chest well up at the thought of being rejected. It was obvious that she didn't want him, so he wasn't going to dwell on it anymore._

"_Of course I am," Snape said firmly. "I am going to do it."

* * *

_

Snape ran his finger over the Dark Mark and sighed again. He finished off his glass of fire whiskey and stood. Looking at the clock he noticed it was almost six. If Erica's hearing was anything like her fighting, then the armies were attacking soon.

Snape picked up his wand and walked out of his quarters. He reached the Great Hall in a number of minutes. He spotted Erica immediately. Several students listening to what she had to say intently surrounded her.

As he approached, Erica noticed him and told the kids she would finish the story later. She walked up to Snape and nodded a hello. He returned the favor and the two of them headed up to the Head Table together silently.

Dumbledore watched them approach. Everyone was here and it was time to inform the students.

The doors to the Great Hall were shut and Dumbledore stood. The noise instantly stopped.

"Many of you are curious as to why I have called you here and why the house tables are bare. The answer to that question is simple. We are not going to eat tonight, and some of us may never eat again."

There were several murmurs going around which ended when Dumbledore raised his hand.

"Tonight is a night when boys become men and girls become women. We are participating in a historical event. We knew this day was coming, but we were unaware of how soon. As many of you have noticed, there are only fifth years and higher here this evening. The reason for that being is that you are our army. Our only defense against what is coming here tonight. Voldemort is coming tonight."

Gasps and screams were sounding throughout the Great Hall. Several students were terrified about the news Dumbledore had just delivered. No one was ready to die.

"I am sorry to push this onto you, but it was pushed onto me. We had hoped that this day would never come during your time here at Hogwarts, or that this battle would occur farther away. But the battle is here and the time is now. Be prepared for battle, and for death. I am sorry."

With those last words Dumbledore sat down and sighed. The Great Hall was silent for several moments before there were panicked students screaming and calmer students trying to calm the panicking ones down.

Erica turned to Snape and suddenly felt the impending doom that was about to befall them. She knew this might be the last time she ever saw him alive.

"Severus?" she said softly. He turned to look at her. Erica felt the tears roll down her face as she looked into his black eyes, maybe for the last time.

"I just wanted to tell you that I love you," she said so quietly she was sure that Snape hadn't heard her. She started to look away from him, but he grabbed her chin with his hand and held her in place.

"I know," he said. "I…"

Snape didn't get any farther. The doors to the Great Hall opened and Deatheaters, along with vampires, trolls, and other creatures entered the room. Leading them dressed in red robes with a piercing grin on his face was Lord Voldemort himself.


	9. Day three: The storm

**Warning: there is talk of rape in this chapter. If it offends you please skip over it. I apologize. I was not expecting this story to become so violent, but that is just how it worked out...sorry.**

The Great Hall was silent. Voldemort walked forward toward Dumbledore. Harry was as far away from him as possible, but at that moment, Voldemort's mind was on something else.

"Hello there Dumbledore," Voldemort said in an eager voice. Voldemort's red eyes moved across the table to Snape and Erica. His evil smile grew.

"Lucius!" he said in a loud voice. Snape noticed Erica tense up slightly as Lucius, in full Deatheater garb, walked forward to Voldemort and bow to him.

"I believe I found something you lost," Voldemort said staring at Erica. Lucius stood and removed his mask. He looked directly at Erica and smiled.

"Ah…yes. My little toy. I lost it some time ago. Thank you for finding it for me Master," Lucius said.

Lucius moved closer to Erica until he was standing directly across from her. The only thing separating them was the table.

"How have you been my little trinket?" Lucius said extending a hand to her. Snape waited for her to do something, anything to Lucius, but she didn't move. It seemed like she was rooted to the chair.

Snape watched as Lucius ran his finger along her cheek. The instant that Lucius' finger touched her cheek, Erica flinched.

Snape understood now. He knew that Lucius had a crush on Erica in school, that he found her attractive, and that he was jealous of their friendship, but this was worse. Snape stood angrily and grabbed Lucius' wrist.

Lucius turned and looked into Snape's eyes with a smile. "Ah, yes. Hello again Severus. Surely you can forgive me, but I have a thing for vampires."

"Leave her alone," Snape said angrily. Lucius lowered his hand back to his side when Snape released it before letting out a loud laugh.

"So you know her little secret. The one she swore she'd never tell."

"I know that you kept her locked up," Snape said. Lucius smiled wider and looked back down at Erica.

"Ah, so you didn't tell him." Snape looked at Erica, whose face was staring straight ahead, but she looked scared and upset all at once.

"What are you talking about Lucius?" Snape said still keeping an eye on Erica.

"She isn't pure anymore…I made sure of that," Lucius said smiling down at Erica. Silent tears were falling down her face. She didn't want to cry, but there was too much pain at the memories.

Snape's eyes widened in understanding, Lucius had raped her.

"Yes, dear Severus. I turned her into what she is now, I took her away from you, and then I made sure to spoil her for you. The best part was knowing that she was crying for you to save her when I took her virginity."

Snape was glaring at Lucius. He wanted to grab his wand and kill him where he stood. He glanced down at Erica. She had her eyes closed tightly. He could see the tears staining her face. He knew now what business she had to do. He knew why she wanted to be at the battle.

He knew now why she wanted to kill Lucius.

"It was so much fun listening to her sobs that night. She kept calling out for your forgiveness, even though she knew that you would never speak to her again. I guess I was wrong about that. You obviously have no problem with damaged goods, or little vampire sluts."

Voldemort was laughing with Lucius this time. Lupin was angry, but he knew not to get involved. This was between Snape, Lucius, and Erica.

"I am going to take her back with me now. She belongs to me and always will Severus. Don't forget that."

Lucius reached out and grabbed Erica's arm roughly and pulled her across the table. She gasped. He started to drag her out of the room.

"This is your punishment for betraying us Severus," Voldemort said looking at the young girl. Lucius stopped to remove her weapons. The moment he released her arms she grabbed him and threw him across the room into the armies with such force that many fell to the ground.

The teaching staff took this opportunity to attack. Snape pulled his wand out and aimed it at the group in the back. He started throwing hexes everywhere. Many of the students took this opportunity to fight back. The vampires were so shocked by Erica's attack and strength that they didn't notice when she cast a single spell causing them all to become dust. Many of the other creatures fell quickly. The students had studied their magical creatures and knew their weaknesses.

Lucius looked up and saw Erica fighting the Deatheaters with promise. He watched as another fell to the ground. He moved forward and extended his wand to her. She was so preoccupied that she didn't even notice the Jelly Legs curse until it hit her. She hit the ground unable to move her legs.

"I always knew I could turn you legs to jelly," Lucius said by her ear. Erica took a sharp intake of breath. She could feel Lucius' hands on her legs, but she couldn't move them away from him.

"I know you like it when I do this," he said again by her ear. Erica whipped her arm around to hit him, but he grabbed her arm as it swung. He pulled her up to his face.

"Now, now…is that anyway to treat your first lover?" Lucius said with a smile. Erica spit in his face, causing him to release her, before she answered.

"You were never a lover to me," she said defiantly. Lucius grabbed her arms and pulled her up against him.

"I see that you need another lesson," he said crushing his lips to hers. She tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but he was holding tight.

Then she felt the counter-curse flow through her body. She had control of her legs again. She sent her knee flying into Lucius' crotch. He hit the ground in pain and Erica stood up. Snape was there. They nodded at each other before getting back into the battle.

Erica was sending a shock to one of the Deatheaters when everyone stopped fighting. The Deatheater she was fighting fell to the ground dead as the room became silent. Voldemort and Harry Potter were facing off.

"You will never win Potter," Voldemort said.

"I will win," Harry replied, "for my parents."

Voldemort growled before sending out a Crucio curse. Harry blocked it easily before throwing one of his own. The battle between them went on for several minutes until Voldemort got a good one off.

"_Expelliarmus_," Voldemort shouted. Harry froze for a second too long and was hit. His wand went flying into Voldemort's hand. Harry was helpless.

"It appears I have the upper hand now Potter," Voldemort said smugly. Harry looked up at him from the ground where he laid.

Snape was standing behind Harry and Erica was off to the side. Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry

"_Avada Kedavra_," Voldemort shouted. Snape moved to block Harry. Erica gasped and ran out. She wasn't going to lose him now, and not like this. She shoved Snape out of the way and got the full blast of the curse.

She screamed in pain and fell to her knees. Snape rushed over to her and held out his left hand to her. She grabbed his wrist, pulled up the sleeve, and placed her hand over the Dark Mark.

Snape began to feel a strange sensation build up in his body before he felt pain in his arm. The other Deatheaters were screaming too, only louder. Lucius was behind Erica with his wand pointed at her back. He was feeling the pain as well, but ignoring it better.

"_Avada Kedavra_," he screamed with some pain and pleasure. The light hit her between the shoulder blades, where her heart was. Erica screamed again.

The Deatheaters were falling to the ground, screaming.

Erica was beginning to glow a bright white color. She looked up at Snape and smiled. She held onto his arm tighter as a white wave shot out of her body. It hit all the Deatheaters, who died instantly. The room became quiet. Lucius lay in a lump behind Erica.

Snape was breathing. He was the only Deatheater still alive. Erica screamed once more before falling to the floor at Snape's feet. It was deathly quiet.

Snape looked down at Erica and then at his arm. The mark was gone she had freed him. He knelt down beside her and tried to touch her, but her body was too hot to touch.

Voldemort looked around at his dead armies, at the dead students, at his own failure. He was growing angrier. Suddenly Harry's wand flew out of his hands.

He turned to see it pointed at him. "_Avada Kedavra_," Harry yelled. The bright green light flew out of his wand and hit Voldemort before he had a chance to move. Voldemort's red eyes grew wide before he hit the ground with a thud.

Harry walked up to the corpse of the most feared wizard of all time. He picked up Voldemort's wand and snapped it in two.

"See you in Hell," Harry said. The surviving students were moving forward slowly. They looked around at all the death and destruction. It was Neville Longbottom who finally broke the silence.

"It's over," he said in a quiet voice. It became a chant. "It's over."

But for Severus Snape it wasn't. "Poppy, over here," Snape yelled.

She rushed over to him and looked down at Erica. The girl was so hot to the touch, and she was starting to glow. Her hair had silver streaks in it.

"Take her to the infirmary," Poppy said to Snape. He nodded and quickly went to pick her up. Poppy stopped him.

"Don't touch her if you can help it. Levitate her there. I will take care of her as soon as I can." Once again Snape nodded and pointed his wand at Erica. "_Mobilicorpus_," he said. Erica floated into the air, and Snape quickly took her to the infirmary.

He placed her on a bed carefully before removing the spell. He wanted to touch her so badly, but knew that he couldn't.

She had saved him. She had jumped in front of the death curse for him. Snape looked at her carefully.

Because she is a vampire, it was hard to tell if she was still alive, but Snape knew that she had to be. He couldn't live without her. He could still hear her voice, feel her near him, and still taste her kisses.

He wanted her to be his. He still loved her more than anything in the world, but he didn't get a chance to tell her. For the first time since his mother's death, Snape let tears fall down his cheeks.

That was how Poppy found him ten minutes later. He was sitting on the floor next to Erica's bed crying his eyes out.

Poppy moved next to the bed and began examining Erica with her wand. Snape stopped crying when he realized that Poppy had arrived. He quickly dried his eyes and looked down at the woman he was desperately in love with.

Dumbledore arrived several minutes later. He was helping the children cope with their friends' deaths. When all the students had been brought up to the hospital wing or sent to bed, Dumbledore approached Snape and Poppy looking over the unconscious form of Erica.

"What's the diagnosis Poppy?" Dumbledore said. Poppy didn't say anything as she ran her wand up and down Erica several more times. Finally she looked up at Dumbledore.

"I think that she survived," she said.

"That's impossible," Snape said. "No one could survive being hit with two death curses."

"Meet the exception," Poppy said putting her wand away. "This girl survived, and that's not all."

Dumbledore and Snape looked at Poppy with curiosity in their eyes.

"She's not a vampire anymore."

"Then she's human?"

Poppy shook her head. "No, a human couldn't have survived the two killing curses."

"Then what is she?" Snape asked impatiently. Poppy shrugged.

"I don't know. All I know is that something kept her grounded to earth so she didn't die, and something else changed her during those seconds when she killed all those Deatheaters."

"Except me," Snape said bewildered. He lifted his arm to show Dumbledore his arm. The mark was gone. Snape still couldn't believe it.

"The Dark Mark is gone? How strange," Dumbledore said examining Snape's arm. Lupin came rushing in about this time.

"Is she okay? Is Erica alright?" He asked breathlessly. Dumbledore nodded and turned to leave. Snape took his place by Erica's bedside while Lupin sat on a chair on the other side. Poppy left them alone.

"She's okay," Lupin said quietly. Snape nodded.

That night the two enemies reached a silent agreement to be civil to each other. If not for the students, then just for Erica's sake. Both men remained by her bedside until morning, when the sun shined in through the windows and over Erica's body.

She didn't move as the sun caressed her skin.

The sun moved over Snape's face and woke him up. Snape looked up at the sun coming in through the windows and then at the sun on Erica's arms. She wasn't burning anymore.

He stood up and looked down at her face. He gently brushed several strands of her hair away from her face and behind her ear. Suddenly her eyes flittered open and she looked at Snape.

"Hello Erica," he said. Erica smiled before closing her eyes again and drifting back to sleep.


	10. The Purpose

**This chapter is going to sound a little strange, but please understand that it is not to confuse you. I didn't even think about which direction this story was going when I wrote this. It just came out of my fingers and onto the computer this way without my even realizing it. Please if you have any questions to put them in your reviews. I would gladly answer them later on. **

Erica awoke that evening. She was alone at the time. Snape was talking with Poppy and Lupin was at the Shrieking Shack due to the full moon.

Erica was breathing deeply. She was afraid of what had happened. She was dressed in a hospital gown. She sat up slowly and brought her hand to her head. She could hear Snape and Poppy talking in the office.

"How are you going to tell her?" Poppy asked. Erica's ears perked up at their mention of her.

"I don't know. I don't want to hurt her anymore than she is already hurt," Snape replied. Erica could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

"She has to be told. We simply cannot allow her to walk around under this pretense that all is well," Poppy replied. Erica jumped out of bed, suddenly feeling a rush of energy surge through her system. She saw Snape's cloak sitting on the chair next to her bed. She picked it up and put in on.

She was surrounded by his scent of spices. It was intoxicating. She breathed deeply taking in his scent before she started to move away from the bed.

"It will come as a shock, and she may not be able to take it. Do you really think that it is wise to tell her at this time?"

Erica didn't hear the rest. She moved barefooted out of the infirmary as quietly as she could and into the empty hallways.

Snape and Poppy were sitting at the office table discussing telling Molly Weasley about her son, Percy's death. He had joined the Deatheaters four days ago just to fight in this battle. He was angry about something and was determined to change it, but Erica and her strange powers had destroyed him. Molly had already lost a son, Charlie, in a dragon accident and it didn't seem right for her to lose another so soon.

"I just don't know how to tell her about him. Who knows how she'll react to the news that not only one of her sons, but two are dead now."

Poppy shook her head before looking up at the clock on the wall of her office.

"It is time for me to check on Erica again. Would you wait here please?" Snape didn't want to wait, but he did as Poppy asked.

She walked out of the room and was gone for about a minute before she reentered with a look of shock on her face.

"Poppy, what is it?" Snape said jumping out of his chair. Poppy turned to him with wide eyes and whispered, "She's gone."

Snape rushed out of Poppy's office and to Erica's now vacated bed. He looked at the chair and noticed that his cloak was missing.

"I'll inform the Headmaster," Snape said. "Wait here and see if she comes back."

Snape ran out of the infirmary and headed toward the Headmaster's office at breakneck speed. He turned the corner and ran straight into Harry under his dad's invisibility cloak.

They fell to the ground and the invisibility cloak fell of Harry. "Potter!" Snape yelled from beside Harry. Harry's eyes widened as he realized just who he had ran into while making a run to the library for Hermione.

"Professor…Snape…sir, I was just…"

"Save it Pot…" It was then Snape noticed a rather familiar piece of parchment in Harry's hands.

"Give that to me Potter," Snape said. Harry looked at it and handed it over. To Snape it appeared to be a standard piece of parchment.

"What is this Potter?" Snape asked curiously. "I feel like I've seen it before."

"That is just some parchment Professor," Harry answered nervously. Snape looked up and noticed that Harry had begun to shift from one foot to another.

"You're lying," Snape said in a low voice. "What is it really, and if you don't tell me the truth, I'll just read your mind for my answers…as well as anything else I find of interest."

Harry paled instantly and stopped moving. "Um…it's a map sir," Harry said cautiously. Snape looked at it again before handing it back to Harry.

"Show me," he said. Harry nodded before pulling out his wand and pointing it at the map.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," Harry said. Instantly the map appeared. Snape took it from Harry's hand before looking at everything.

There was a small dot with his name and then another with Harry's. "Interesting," Snape said.

He quickly started scanning the map for Erica. He found her in the Great Hall for some reason. Snape started in the direction of the Great Hall after telling Harry to head back to his dormitory.

Snape kept his eye on Erica's dot on the map. He moved quickly along trying to get to her before she moved to another room.

He reached the doors to the Great Hall in record time. He checked the map and made sure that Erica was still there. He opened the door and entered.

The Great Hall was dark and still had the scent of blood. "_Lumos_," he said lighting up the end of his wand. He walked into the room slowly.

"Erica?" he called out while stepping carefully around the small stains of blood the room still retained. There was no answer. Snape checked the map again and saw Erica was still in the room. He walked forward searching desperately for her.

He reached the spot where Erica had fallen after being hit with the killing curse twice. There was a strange glow about it. He knelt down and starred at the small glowing circle.

"It's my blood," someone said from directly behind Snape. He stood and whirled around quickly. It was Erica. She was still wearing Snape's cloak and the hospital gown, but she had a white aura around her.

"The vampire is gone, but the blood of the human remains," Erica said. Her eyes turned to Snape. "I am neither now. If I am not human or vampire, then what am I?"

Snape started to answer when Erica raised her hand and stopped him. "Do not answer. I need someone who cares for me to tell me, not someone who thinks I cannot handle the truth."

Snape narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I don't understand."

"You were talking to Poppy when I awoke, saying that I wouldn't be able to handle it and that you needed to tell me so I no longer walked around under false pretenses."

Snape shook his head and took a step forward. "No, I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about a parent and telling her about her son's death."

Erica stared at Snape, studying him, before she started laughing. Snape looked at her and almost smiled. It was good to hear her laugh again.

"I am so silly. To become so conceited and confused…"

Snape shook his head. "No, you are fine just the way you are."

Erica stopped laughing and looked at Snape with her emotionless face once again. "The way I am? What am I?"

Erica could feel the tears welling up inside her. She was lost for the first time in her life.

She fell to her knees inside the strange glowing circle and started to cry. A bright light began to glow around her inside the circle. Snape tried to reach out and grab her, but the light burned his hand. Erica gasped.

Her hands fell to the ground as the light began to shine brighter. Her hair was hanging down by her face like a veil. Snape could just make out her eyes. She was looking at the ground with wide eyes. It looked like she was breathing hard.

"Erica!" Snape yelled. He tried to touch her again and succeeded in touching her hand. Instantly he felt that familiar shock from earlier, before he was thrown across the room from the force of power surging through Erica's body.

Snape opened his eyes. He was in a strange place. He looked around and spotted Erica dressed in her vampire outfit before him.

"Erica," he yelled. She didn't appear to hear him. He rushed over to her and tried to grab her, but fell straight through her body.

"I'm so sorry Severus," she said.

A second Erica showed up, this one dressed in Gryffindor colors, followed by another dressed as she was when kneeling on the ground. The three of them formed a triangle around Snape. He looked at them all as they faced him.

"It is your choice," vampire Erica said with a snap. She was scarier than the real Erica had been.

"You remember us all," the school Erica said. "You remember us all, but you don't know our true purpose. If you did, you would never understand."

"What is your purpose?" Snape asked. The older Erica with silver streaks through her hair looked down at Snape.

"Our purpose is one that you could never imagine. One you would never understand."

"How do you know I won't understand?" Snape asked quietly.

School Erica walked forward and sat down next to Snape. "We know you Severus, better than you think. Each of us knows a different side of you. I know about your school days."

"I know about you before the war," vampire Erica said.

"And I know about you through love," the older Erica said. Snape looked at all of them as they sat around him, still in the triangle.

"Is this a dream?"

"Do you wish it too be?" Older Erica said. Snape shook his head.

"I want to understand," he said. Older Erica looked at the other two. They nodded their opinions at her. Older Erica turned back to Snape.

"Very well, but once you see our true purpose, you will be forced to choose. Either killing Erica, or allowing her to complete her purpose."

Snape nodded. Older Erica told him to shut his eyes and clear his mind. He did so.

Visions began to cloud his mind as the true intent of Erica's existence began to play in his head.

* * *

_Erica stands at the top of the Astronomy tower with Dumbledore. He is smiling and she is not. They aren't speaking. _

_A flash of something flies through the air and impales itself onto Dumbledore. His smile fades as his hand touches his wound and becomes coated in his blood. _

_His eyes lift to Erica's eyes. His are filled with confusion and fear while hers are filled with a coldness that Snape could never understand. _

_Dumbledore takes a step away from Erica and notices the object in her hand. It is a knife covered in his blood._

_He takes another step back and falls over the edge of the tower onto the ground below, dead._

_Erica drops the knife over the edge and allows it to fall onto Dumbledore's chest. She turns and leaves the tower, blood coating her hands.

* * *

_

Snape's eyes open instantly. He looks at the three versions of his oldest friend, and the only woman he has ever loved.

"The choice is yours now Severus," School Erica said. "Can you kill the only woman you ever loved, your first real friend?"

"You didn't kill me once before despite my appearances," vampire Erica said, "but that was before we threatened your only real friend who trusted you when no one else would. Can you kill me now?"

"Or will you choose to let me carry out my purpose for still living? The choice is yours," older Erica said. The three girls disappeared leaving Snape in the darkness with his thoughts.

He awakened a few seconds later and sat up and looked at Erica. She was still trapped in the light ball, but she didn't seem to be hurting anymore.

He was lost and confused. If he didn't kill her, then Dumbledore would die, but he couldn't kill her either.

Suddenly the light ball around her broke and she was able to stand again. She wasn't glowing like before, but she was breathing terribly hard.

"You need to make your choice now Severus," she said. She reached down and picked up a knife from the floor and placed it on a nearby table, close to Snape.

"Kill me now, or allow Albus to die, I will not stop you," Erica said looking at the floor.

Snape picked up the knife and looked at it for a few seconds. There had to be a reason why she had to kill Dumbledore…there had to be.

"Why do you have to kill Dumbledore?" Snape asked looking at the girl. She didn't move as she spoke.

"That is a reason that only I alone know the answer too. If Albus is to die, then I am the only one to do it. If you kill me and allow Albus to live, then that is your choice. The real question is who do you trust more? Albus or myself?"

Snape was at a crossroads. On one side was Erica, who he has loved for twenty years despite everything, and on the other was Albus, who trusted him when no one else did and took him in despite who he was. Now one had to die.

Snape took a deep breath as he walked closer to Erica with the knife. The blade flashed catching every bit of light there was in the dim room. Snape kept his eyes on Erica the whole time, waiting for some sort of reaction from her. There was none.

When he finally stood in front of her he lifted her chin with his free hand and looked into her eyes.

Her eyes told him no lies. It was more than just killing Albus, but she couldn't tell him the reasoning behind it. She loved him more than anything, just like she had twenty years ago, if not more. She trusted him to make the right decision, but also knew that this was hard for him to decide. His friend, or the woman he loves.

"I don't know what to do," he whispered. Erica nodded slightly.

"I know, but I know that whatever choice you make, it will be right."

Snape lifted the dagger and looked at it before looking back at Erica.

"I've made my choice," he said staring directly into her eyes.

**I apologize about the cliffhanger...I bet you are just bursting to know what he chose. Did he choose the love of his life who up and disappeared on him for twenty years or the friend who took him in and gave him a job in his darkest hour and trusted him without fear? Who knows...well, I do, but that's not important. TTFN Ta Ta For Now**


	11. The Ending

**This is the final chapter of this story. I apologize if you don't like this chapter or if you are confused. I don't know what I was thinking. I hope you enjoy it...and I don't own Harry Potter. I do own Erica. Enjoy this final chapter of Forget about Love.**

"I've made my choice," he said looking directly into her eyes.

Erica nodded and shut hers waiting for the impact of the dagger into her chest, but it never came. A loud clang shocked Erica into opening her eyes.

Snape was standing there staring at her. He had dropped the dagger. He took a step forward and pulled Erica into a desperate kiss.

His lips were soft on hers. Erica gasped at the sensations that his kiss was sending throughout her body. She had felt it once before, when she was a vampire and they had made love after she told him to kill her.

Snape arms were wrapped around her waist pulling her directly up against his body. He was holding her so tight that he was afraid he was hurting her, but he couldn't get himself to let up. He was holding her like he was afraid if he let her go she would disappear.

She broke the kiss when the need for air became desperate. Their foreheads rested against each other's as the tried to breathe normally again.

"Please don't kill him," Snape said quietly. Erica could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Severus," she said. She pushed him away from her, picked up the dagger, and was out of the Great Hall before Snape regained his footing.

Once Snape was back on his feet he took off after Erica. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew that he had to find her before she found Albus.

He checked the Headmaster's quarters, Headmaster's office, and even woke up McGonagall, but was unable to find the whereabouts of Dumbledore.

He was heading back to the infirmary, when he suddenly remembered the slight vision he had while knocked out in the Great Hall.

The astronomy tower… 

Snape turned in his direction and rushed to the astronomy tower. He didn't bother stopping when he caught students out of bed he just kept running.

He reached the astronomy tower in record time. He started the long climb to the top of the tower, keeping his ears open for either Dumbledore's voice or Erica's voice.

He was just about to reach the top when he heard their voices. He lifted the trapdoor slightly so he could see them. They were standing side-by-side starring out onto the grounds.

"I understand that this is my duty, but I don't think that Severus will ever understand why," Erica said.

"No one would understand this. With Voldemort gone, my life is complete and I can move on," Dumbledore said. Erica nodded and turned to face Dumbledore.

"I gave Severus a chance to kill me and he didn't take it. I…" Erica shut her eyes and sighed.

Dumbledore turned to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I am so sorry. It was decided long ago that you would be the one to do this, but we never thought about your feelings on this. Hopefully Severus will understand the reason for my death, and why you had to be the one to do it."

"I don't want to hurt him. He has already suffered enough because of me," Erica said with tears in her eyes. Dumbledore smiled slightly and pulled Erica into a hug.

"All will be well, my child," Dumbledore said. Erica pulled away from him and pulled out the dagger.

"This is what he was supposed to kill me with," Erica said looking at the blade. Dumbledore took the dagger from his hand and sliced his hand. Erica took it from him and did the same to her hand.

Dumbledore held out his bloodied hand as Erica did the same, they didn't touch.

"Power of the ancients, take that of mine and give to one worthy of my power. My granddaughter is now worthy of such a task."

Snape almost fell off the ladder he was standing on. _Granddaughter?_

"With my death, may my powers be transferred to her and may she use them for good."

As Dumbledore finished he placed his cut hand in hers and mixed the blood.

"Our blood mixed once with my daughter's marriage and your birth, now again they mix, an exchange of powers for one who is worth, my blood, my grandchild."

A bright light engulfed Dumbledore before moving to Erica and engulfing her in white flames.

Their hands separated, as the white light grew brighter.

Dumbledore took a few steps away from her, as she grew brighter. The cut on her hand closed up and her clothes changed before Snape's eyes.

As the light diminished, Erica came back into focused. Her hair was normal again. The silver streaks were gone. She was dressed in a white gown with silver snakes and gold lions on it. The cut on her hand was healed.

"Interesting," Dumbledore said taking a step toward his granddaughter. She looked at him with bright brown eyes.

"What is?"

"The snakes," Dumbledore said. "It appears that you are more important than even I would have thought. It makes sense now. My daughter made a wise choice even if she didn't realize it."

Erica shook her head. "I don't understand." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled slightly as he smiled at her.

"Salazar and Godric must be rolling over in their graves," Dumbledore said quietly. Snape and Erica narrowed their eyes at the same time. "No wonder it took the sorting hat so long to place you. You could have been in either Slytherin or Gryffindor. You are the first descendent of both houses."

Erica's eyes widened as she gasped. Dumbledore smiled. "I am glad that I know now why you were able to be friends with those in both houses without causing a riot. I wish I could stay and see you take my place here."

Erica nodded and her eyes lowered to the ground, and the dagger in her hand. Dumbledore pulled her into another hug.

"Don't worry about complications," he said. "I placed a note in my office explaining why this had to be done."

Erica nodded. She lifted the dagger and plunged it into Dumbledore's stomach. Dumbledore whimpered as the pain intensified. He took a step away from Erica and fell over the edge of the tower, just like in the vision. Erica walked up and dropped the dagger over the edge after Dumbledore.

She turned away from the scene and fell to her knees. Her hands went to her face and her shoulders shook as she cried.

Snape watched the whole thing with awe. He saw Dumbledore fall, Erica drop the knife, and then fall to the ground and start to cry.

Snape felt betrayed and confused. He opened the trapdoor and walked into the small area where Erica and Dumbledore were standing before. He walked over to Erica's crying form and sat next to her.

Snape didn't know what to say. For the first time in his life, he was speechless. They sat there for a few more minutes before Erica broke the silence.

"Aren't you going to take me away or yell at me?"

Snape looked up at her again. "Why would I do that?" Erica's hands dropped to her lap. She didn't look up at him.

"I killed him even though you asked me not to. I know you well enough to know that you are angry about it."

Snape wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. "I'm not angry. I think I understand somewhat."

Erica shook her head. "No, you don't understand at all. I will never be human again."

Snape took her chin in his hand and lifted her face to his. "You look human to me," he said.

Erica smiled and shook her head before standing again. "We should go down to Dumbledore's office. I need to tell you all the truth. I will meet you there in an hour, bring Harry and Minerva."

Snape watched as she moved out of the astronomy tower, leaving him there in the cold.

Snape found Potter and McGonagall and took them to Dumbledore's office, ignoring their questions on the way.

When they entered the room, they noticed as Falkes was standing on Erica's shoulder. She was sitting behind Dumbledore's massive desk.

"What's going on? Where is the Headmaster?" McGonagall asked stepping into the room in her teaching robes. Harry followed her rubbing his eyes and wearing red pants and a white t-shirt.

"What's going on?" he asked. Erica waited as Snape shut the door to the office. He turned back to them and nodded. Erica stood, causing Falkes to fly back to his perch.

"Albus Dumbledore was a great man," Erica said. The "was" wasn't missed by anyone in the room.

"Was?" McGonagall asked.

"He did several great things for the wizard world during his 135 years of life. It is unfortunate that he is now dead."

McGonagall and Harry both jumped up at those words shouting out all sorts of questions. Erica raised her hand and asked them to sit down again. Only once they were seated again did she speak.

"I know that he is dead, because I killed him." Harry's eyes widened and McGonagall raised her wand at Erica.

"I should kill you where you stand," she said. Erica nodded. "You should, so why don't you?"

McGonagall gasped as Erica offered her a free chance to kill her. She lowered her wand and sat back in the chair.

"You can't because you know that Albus wouldn't have tolerated it. I recently discovered that Albus Dumbledore was my grandfather…and that I am the descendant of both Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor. I am not human, and haven't been in a long time. I am a witch of pure magic."

Harry looked confused, Snape looked slightly surprised, and McGonagall looked like a deer looking into a pair of headlights.

"The pure magic in me means that I cannot die, except when one of my descendants is finally worthy of taking over my power. That is the only one who can kill me. I was such a descendant. My grandfather was waiting for me to come and take over as the newest pure power in the family. When I choose to marry, my husband will be allowed to live at my side until the day I die. Once that day occurs, he too will die."

Snape couldn't believe everything that this girl was admitting. Clearly everyone in the room was surprised at learning this bit of information about the dearly departed Headmaster.

"There is a ritual that Dumbledore and I had to participate in on the full moon of the twelfth month of the year of my thirty-eighth year of life. If we had waited any longer, he would have had to wait until another child was born worthy of this burden. It took him 50 years just for me to be born, and then he had to wait another 38 years for me to come of age."

"I don't understand. This makes no sense. What does all this have to do with Voldemort?" Harry asked. Erica nodded.

"I suppose that would make it easier to explain. Tom Riddle was born with the knowledge of Dumbledore's family. My real mother and father both were killed on the day of his graduation from Hogwarts. I was sent to live with another family and lived there for several years. When I turned eleven I was accepted to Hogwarts without any knowledge of who I was. It wasn't until I was being sorted that it came to my attention."

"The Sorting Hat?" McGonagall asked. Erica nodded.

"The hat informed me of a prophecy. That I was the one to unite Slytherin and Gryffindor in a bond so strong that not even Voldemort could destroy it."

"What was the bond? Was it what happened with Dumbledore?"

Erica shook her head. "No, not really. While the prophecy did say that I was meant to take over Dumbledore's position, this other bond had no ties to Dumbledore, except friendship. Severus Snape was the other bond."

Everyone turned to look at Snape, who was standing there with wide eyes. It was deadly quiet. Finally Snape spoke up.

"What are you talking about?" Erica smiled and lifted her hand. On it was a faint image of the Dark Mark. Snape looked at his left arm again and saw that it was still gone.

"When I grabbed your arm during the final battle, a bond formed between us. Stronger than anything Tom Riddle could do to us. The Dark Mark was what was keeping us from being happy, so I burned it out of your existence. It is if you never had it. The memories of what you have done will be the only reminder."

Snape ran his fingers over the spot where the Dark Mark marred his skin for nearly twenty years.

"The bond between us occurred when Lucius hit me with the killing curse a second time. It should have destroyed my physical body, but the pure magic kept me alive, and you kept me grounded to earth. When the shock hit me, it sent a surge of pure magic through my body and then through yours. You can now do wandless magic, just as my family has been able to do since the beginning of time."

Snape looked up at Erica who was smiling at him. "You are free Severus," she said.

Harry and McGonagall asked a few more questions about Dumbledore before leaving. Snape watched them leave before turning back to Erica. She had her back to him and her arms across her chest.

"I am sorry I couldn't tell you before," she said. "Grandfather didn't want to burden you with the knowledge of who I was. He wanted you to have some sort of a life. He cared for you like you were his son."

"In many ways, he was like my father," Snape said walking up behind Erica. "So, what happens now?"

Erica shrugged. "I don't know. I will take over as head of my family; maybe I can get a job teaching like my grandfather, or something. The future is quite unpredictable."

Snape nodded. "That it is," he said before turning Erica toward him and kissing her.

Erica was shocked at his boldness, and all the emotions she was feeling. He wasn't repulsed or frightened of her. He didn't hate her. He still wanted her.

When the kiss ended Erica looking into his dark eyes. "Why? I thought you didn't want me anymore," she said.

Snape shook his head. "I still want you, no matter what you once were or are now. I have loved you for over twenty years, and old habits die hard."

Erica smiled before taking him in another kiss.

"I love you too, Severus."

THE END


End file.
